Call of the Wild
by Razial
Summary: The hyena and solider spirits break loose in Xander’s mind, after he is hit by a magical backlash from Willow, and it begins to alter his personality into a much darker persona. Changing his future forever
1. Chapter 1

Call of the Wild

Author David Mycock

Beta: Hawklan

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or any other characters used from any show or other media except for any characters I have created for this story only.

Pairing: Xander/Cordelia/Jenny/Tara/Savita/Prue/Lara

Rating: NC-17 or R as this story will feature sexual scenes and be much darker than all of my other stories.

Note: Set during season 4 with elements of season 6 of Buffy with the exception that Jenny did not die during the Angelus crisis and remained in Sunnydale as part of the Scooby gang, but is not in a relationship with Giles. Cordelia does not become possessed, but is in L.A. Prue will still be alive when they meet the Charmed ones and Paige will also turn up, whilst Lara will have just dealt with the Illuminate from the first movie.

Summary: The hyena and solider spirits break loose in Xander's mind, after he is hit by a magical backlash from Willow, during an argument about her addiction to magic and it begins to alter his personality into a much darker persona. Changing his future forever and also changing the course of many other people.

(Magic Box)

Alexander Harris was pissed off and that was putting it mildly, as he glared at his oldest friend while he tried to continue to bring his point across and make her see reason, but as before she was ignoring everything Tara or he had tried to say on the subject.

It had begun a few months back when he had begun to notice Willow was using far more magic than was necessary, as well as using it for mundane reasons which had no purpose to them.

He had tried to talk her into backing off from magic for a while and Tara had joined in. Quickly telling him that she had become, after their first argument with Willow, very worried about how Willow used magic, Jenny had also begun to try and make Willow see reason, but all of them were ignored.

Buffy and Giles did not help the matter, as neither of them would say anything negative to Willow. Buffy was wrapped up in Riley Finn, her new boyfriend and a member of the covert military unit the Initiative, which had come to Sunnydale, plus she believed Willow was in control completely. Giles was another matter as he knew how dangerous magic could be, having delved into black magic when he was younger, but he refused to say anything against Willow so as not to annoy Buffy or upset the red head herself, much to their annoyance.

Both of them currently sat at a table, ignoring the argument, as they talked about a new demon Buffy had encountered on patrol the night before.

Xander did not understand why they were so blind to the danger Willow now represented, if she continued on the path she was currently on. Ever since he had gotten Amy to do the love spell during high school he had become very aware of how deadly magic could be. He had seen what magic had done to Amy's mother as well as Amy herself, who currently was still a rat thanks to a botched spell.

His eyes narrowed as Willow spat another accusation against him, before attacking Tara with words designed to make the young woman feel guilty and doubt herself, but Tara hold her ground, he noted with pride.

At first Tara had been a very shy young woman when she had joined them, but she had grown very fast after making so many friends and helping them against the vampires and demons of Sunnydale, gaining confidence every time they saved someone.

"Will you guys give it a rest," Buffy shouted, turning to give them a glare which Xander returned in equal measure before she turned back to Giles.

Xander turned back in time to notice Willow's almost gloating smirk at Buffy's support, before she went back on the attack, never had he believed Willow would change so much and become such a cold vindictive person. He shivered at how Jessie would have reacted to this had he lived to see it happen. Jenny quickly refuted some of what Willow said very easily, but as before the red head ignored her. Her belief in her control and her power was as unbreakable as was her arrogance.

He shook his head and was wondering how it had all come to this. How did he miss the signs for so long, that he had allowed Willow to fall into the trap of magic? Jenny, Giles and then Tara had all told him how easy it was to slip into an addiction to magic. Of how simple it was to start using magic for everything, altering your personality until you eventually turned to black magic. He doubted they were at that point right now, but he was worried that if they did not reach Willow in time they would lose her forever and she would become another enemy. This was a thought and a nightmare that haunted him.

"Will you three please leave me alone," Willow snapped, getting fed up of listening to them to try and paint her as becoming evil. "I do not need help and I especially do not need to cut back on magic," she continued, glaring at them and feeling a surge of power begin to build within herself. "You are making all of this up, because you are all jealous of my power and how well I can control it," she stated with a sneer.

Xander flinched at how cold his friends voice sounded, but he also noted the worried look Giles momentarily had on his face before he shook his head and returned his attention back to Buffy. This told him that Giles was just as concerned as the rest of them, but to keep the two of them happy he would not say or do anything about it like in so many other situations.

"Will you listen to yourself child," Jenny finally lost her own temper at the stupidity of the young girl in front of her. "You do not control magic at any time. You call on it to aid you, but you do not control it. Magic is the energy of the world and also part of the balance of the whole universe and no one, not even the most powerful witch or warlock can control it," she stated. "Those who try are subverted and turned into mockeries of their former selves just as it is happening to you Willow," she said after a taking a breath.

She was just as annoyed at herself for failing to keep Willow off this path. She had begun to teach Willow how to use magic after the red head had used the soul curse to resoul Angelus, after she herself had been attacked by Angelus, only to be saved by Xander's timely intervention.

Whilst he had saved her life she had slipped into a coma for a month from the beating she had taken, when she had awoken she learned what Willow had done and been appalled that a black magic curse of great power had been her first casting.

Of course Buffy had ignored her worries and arguments only caring about the fact that she had gotten her lover back, after he had returned from hell somehow. Giles whilst sharing her concerns refused to do anything about it to curtail the girl's use of magic from that point on. Xander had listened though, his own experience with magic had taught him to respect and fear it, this was a wise attitude to have concerning to magic at all times.

She had tried to teach Willow magic, but the girl had become annoyed at the slow progress they were going at and quickly gone on to learn on her own, refusing any and all attempts to slow her pace of learning. By the time she met Tara her power had grown, but so had her wilful disregard about how dangerous magic was. She ignored Tara's more reserved way of using magic, believing that she was just afraid of the power she could have wielded causing a lot of friction between the two leading to how things currently stood.

She suddenly frowned as she felt a build up of magic within the red head and a quick look at Tara confirmed she had sensed it too, but Xander was unaware of the danger as he continued to argue with his oldest friend lost in the argument. She quickly went to warn him when Willow let out a scream and a pulse of magic exploded out of her in a black wave which sent Xander, who was closest to her, flying backwards and through a nearby table which broke apart under his weight.

"Goddess," Tara gasped, as she watched Xander crash into the table whilst also feeling the dark foreboding touch of Willows magical backlash and shocked by how dark that magic now felt to her. "What have you done?" she asked as she rushed over to check on her friend.

Willow looked blankly at Xander's fallen form, feeling only a small brief moment of sorrow before her anger resurfaced and she sneered at him. He had pushed her to this and had gotten what he had deserved. She ignored Jenny and Tara as they tried to wake Xander up and quickly gathered her things and left the shop, Giles quickly rang for an ambulance whilst Buffy just stared at Xander unable to believe what Willow had just done and unsure how to feel and who had been in the right.

"He's out cold," Jenny said, after checking Xander's vitals again and shuddering at the darkness in Willow's eyes before she had departed.

"What the hell just happened?" Buffy demanded finally, deciding to support Willow as she had often in the past. "Look what you made her do," she added.

"Are you blind Buffy?" Jenny spat with a shake of her head. "Or just plain stupid?" she added a second later not really surprised by the blond slayer's reaction, as she had long noted how she and Willow always supported one another. "She has no control and her arrogance is huge and now she has hurt her oldest friend in a temper tantrum," she snapped.

"If you just had her left alone then none of this would have happened," Buffy retorted. "It's Xander's own fault for arguing about something he knows nothing about," she added with contempt.

"He knows more about magic than Willow ever will, in the fact he treats it with the right amount of respect and fear," Jenny countered. "Something which Willow lacks and it will lead her to becoming nothing more than another insane witch we will have to deal with," she promised. "A little help from you Rupert to curtail her exploits and this could have been avoided, but as usual you remain silent to keep the two happy, well congratulations I hope you are happy with the result," she said glaring at the watcher.

"Willow knows what she is doing Jenny and I have full confidence this was just an accident which got out of hand," Giles replied although inside he knew Jenny was correct, but he also knew to say anything would be to have Buffy on his case and that was not something he wanted again, so he supported his slayer's view. "An ambulance is on its way and he should recover pretty soon," he stated before taking his place back at the main table.

Jenny and Tara just shared an annoyed look between themselves knowing they would not be able to get through to Buffy and Giles until the situation with Willow exploded in their faces and that was exactly what was going to happen they both thought.

Ten minutes later the ambulance arrived and took Xander to the hospital along with a concerned Jenny. She was concerned about the fact that Xander had still not regained consciousness and she wondered what kind of backlash Willow had unleashed. Tara remained at the shop wondering when Willow would return and just how much longer it would be before her descent into darkness would be complete.

(Sunnydale)

Willow stormed down the road, her anger at what had just happened still firmly in place, how could Xander treat her as if she was a silly young girl who had no clue what she was doing? She knew he was jealous of the fact that she was far more useful to Buffy, during patrols, than he was and so he was trying to make her loose what made her special. As for Jenny and Tara they were just jealous of her power, by trying to tell her she could not control her magic which was a joke as from the very beginning when she had done the soul curse she had been in control.

She sneered at how easy Xander had gone down after she had unleashed only a small fraction of her power in the backlash of her anger. She was amazed she had thought so highly of him when she was younger. She was even more amazed she had risked her relationship with Oz for him during their little fling. She had plans to make as it was clear the three of them were not going to leave her alone so she would make them.

(Elsewhere)

The being shifted, it felt the balance shift as events took shape, but they were the wrong shape. Something had altered the flow of destiny and changed the whole direction of the world. This should not be possible, the being thought, as it scanned the world in search for the source, pausing as it came across the Hellmouth and saw what had just transpired. This was not supposed to happen, this one random act had just blown away every plan they had put in place in the last seven years. The being found traces of Janus, God of Chaos, in the events in question, but found he had not influenced them. Something else was behind this and it would find the source.

"Whistler," the being said and had to wait only a minute, before the balance demon appeared before it, wearing his typical attire.

"Problem?" he inquired, knowing he was only summoned when there was a problem or important plans needed to be put in place.

"Something or someone has altered how things were supposed to go on the Hellmouth and from there outwards to L.A and other places," the being informed him. "I want you to find the source Whistler and report back to me once you've found it," it added. "Stay hidden from the slayer and her group unless you think they can help you and the same with the souled vampire's group, now go," it commanded.

Whistler felt a shiver at the tone of voice in the being's voice before he vanished and moved to his area and thought over his new mission. It would not be easy and would most likely be dangerous, but he had no choice but to carry out his orders, so he quickly got ready before departing.

Across the either Janus also became aware of the events in question, as he felt a tug on his power almost like he was been petitioned, however he also felt an echo of a spell he had already blessed three years ago by his favourite warlock Ethan Rayne.

He viewed the results of the spell and remembered what had transpired that night with a smile, he also remembered the human who had somehow retained so much of the spirit he had been possessed by, which should not have been possible. He had watched the young man and his friends now and again and found their adventures very entertaining, this however was far more interesting to him as he sensed what the backlash of the witches spell had done.

He took a moment to think before he allowed some of his power to flow into the boy, boosting the two spirits now loose inside his mind. He was never one to believe in the great plan the other powers put into place and now he chose to put his own champion into play. Something he had only done once before. He also sent a vision to the young man's former girlfriend in L.A so she would return to Sunnydale to aid him and thus change her fate along side his. He knew exactly what one of the fallen powers had planned for this young woman and denying them that would be enjoyable indeed. In his eyes this young woman had great potential and could be of use to him in the future.

He believed this young man would change the shape of many destinies, he also altered some of the hyena traits so they would be more of a help to him than a hindrance. He smiled as the changes took shape. He sat back then and waited for the young man to awaken and begin his new destiny as the champion of chaos.

(L.A)

Cordelia Chase sat at her desk wondering if they would get any calls today, she noted that since Doyle's death and her becoming Angel's seer that they had much more business than they had before. It was strange but helpful. However she would gladly trade that for Doyle being alive. She still missed him very much and whilst it had been three months since his death the pain had not truly lessened yet.

She looked up as Angel and Wesley came out of his office talking about something, but at the moment she was not interested in what it was. She was thinking about how much her life had changed since she had come to L.A. She leant back in her chair to contemplate her life when she let out a hiss of pain, she fell out of her chair as a vision quickly over came her senses. She had a brief moment to curse becoming Angel's seer before she concentrated on what she was seeing.

What she saw was surprising as well shocking. It were events happening in Sunnydale, something that had not happened since Doyle had a vision of Buffy being in danger. This time however it was not Buffy in danger, but her former lover Xander Harris and the most shocking thing of all was that Willow was the danger he was facing. This confused her greatly, but one thing was for sure she would not let her hurt Xander. It had taken a while for her to forgive him for what transpired between them. His cheating on her had been heartbreaking and the wound from the metal spike just added to that, but he had managed to convey why it had happened it the first place.

There was some twisted logic to it and everything she knew about him confirmed what had he had told her. It had been a combination of his upbringing of being made to believe he would never be good enough combined with his long time friendship with Willow.

He basically admitted he had subconsciously been looking for a way to destroy their relationship without really realising what he was doing and Willow had offered an easy answer.

He had not thought he was truly good enough for her and this had astounded her when he finally told her the truth, but knowing him better than even Willow did, because Willow never knew the truth about his family only Jessie had before her. Knowing that, told her so much about his character and was why she believed him. Now he was in trouble and she would help him.

"Cordy, what did you see?" Angel inquired, as he and Wesley knelt next to her.

"We have to go back to Sunnydale," she answered, as she allowed them to help her back to her feet as she began to recover all of her senses.

"Buffy," Angel immediately stated with the usual look he got when he thought of the blond slayer and made her want to roll her eyes.

At least Xander had fully got over his attraction to the blond slayer she remembered, granted he had still wanted to help her just as much, but it was not because he still liked her more than a friend. He had told her how after she had used him to make Angel jealous he had lost any attraction he had left, as she had shown what kind of person she really was, however Angel was another matter and she doubted he would ever truly get over the blond slayer.

"No she is fine," Cordelia replied snapping of her thoughts. "Xander is the one in trouble," she continued and did not miss the look of distaste Angel suddenly acquired.

"Please tell me you're joking?" Angel almost pleaded as he wanted noting more to do with Alexander Harris at all.

They had never and would never be friends and before leaving Sunnydale they had a big blow out, long over due really and a hell of a lot was said. The worst thing was most of it was true and that made his gut roll. Xander had brought up every one of his failures and shoved them back into his face, he would never forgive Angel for his mistakes and he especially would not forgive him for allowing Angelus to escape to kill Kendra and almost kill Jenny Calendar as well as his other victims.

In Xander's eyes he had betrayed his purpose in Sunnydale and been culpable in Angelus's rampage by forgetting why he was cursed in the first place. He had said, had he remembered that he would never have thought of pursuing Buffy or sleeping with her which broke the curse. These points hurt even now and for it he hated the young man even more and now Cordelia was telling him he would have to help him.

"No I am not joking Angel," Cordelia responded with anger in her tone. "We will be leaving as soon as it is dark and you will help him," she snapped. "Forget your issue's with him and I'll make sure he forgets his with you and focus on the problem at hand," she stated with an undertone of threat in her voice.

"And exactly what is the problem Cordelia?" Wesley finally spoke up. "Did you see what endangers Mr. Harris?" he added.

"Never call him that Wesley, especially to his face if you value your life, he hates it," Cordelia told him seriously. "And yes I did see what the trouble is," she added. "It's Willow, she's snapped," she stated before turning to pack some things.

This left Angel and Wesley stunned in the hotel's lobby at her response, the idea that Willow was going to be the thing they had to stop was almost ludicrous as far as they were concerned, but neither doubted Cordelia either and after sharing a small look they moved to prepare to return to the Hellmouth.

(Sunnydale, Hospital)

Jenny sat in the waiting area, worried not only about Xander's current status, but Willow's actions and what they meant. She doubted this issue would be resolved so easily and she worried if the group was ready for what she suspected was about to happen.

Willow had crossed the line and attacked a friend and that meant she was falling deeper into the whole of magic even faster than she had first feared. She also suspected Willow would now be planning to deal with her and Tara as well, as they were also against her continued rise in power.

She closed her eyes and then took a deep breath as she tried to centre herself, only for them to snap open as she felt a power wash through the hospital and straight to Xander's room. It was unlike anything she had felt before sending shivers up and down her body. It was certainly not Willow, but something else of great power, then she paused as she realised she had felt something like this before three years ago on Halloween when Ethan Rayne had used Janus to turn everyone, including her into their costumes.

What the hell was going on she wondered, as the power continued to flow over her. Why Janus would be doing this, if it was him indeed. Something told her things were about to truly go south in Sunnydale and none of them would be left unchanged. Xander most of all, as she sensed the magic was directed at him. What did the god of chaos intend with this move, she wondered and why act through Xander. These were questions she would need to answer quickly she thought, before everything went to hell in Sunnydale.

(Highway)

Angel found himself an hour and a half later glaring at the open road, whilst Cordelia and Wesley slept in the back seat. He hated having to come back to Sunnydale to save the young man he hated more than anyone, except maybe Spike. He knew there was no way out of this as this was a part of his redemption path. The powers had sent the vision to Cordelia which meant he had to do it.

He also knew that if he did anything which resulted in Xander coming to harm he would have to deal with Cordelia's anger and maybe by doing so he would earn her hatred. That was not something he wanted. So he resolved himself to doing what he had too to save Xander and stop Willow from whatever she planned.

Coming back to the idea of Willow being the thing he had to face to save someone, especially Xander Harris, was still shocking to him even now. How did the young girl he had known fallen so far?

'What the hell had been happening in Sunnydale in his absence and what would it take to bring Willow back to herself?' he wondered as he swerved the car to miss an animal which ran onto the road, causing him to curse.

In the back Cordelia woke up as the car swerved as it jerked her to the side. She rubbed her eyes and looked to her right and noticed Wesley was still out cold. This amused her before she turned to look out the window of the car and out into the night, her thoughts turning back to Sunnydale, a place she hated so very much.

Yet some of her best memories were from her home town with the small band of people Xander had nicknamed the Scooby gang. Yes their lives had been in constant danger, but she had done things to be proud off and helped save lives. She had also experienced real friendships and not the false ones she had been with most of her life. She had also had her first real relationship based on love.

Xander had loved her and she knew this in her heart, but sadly for them, his upbringing was going to destroy them and almost cost her life, Willow was also to blame, as she had been the aggressor in pursing the fling to its conclusion. What made her angry these days was Willow got off with very little blame and soon got Oz back, whilst she allowed her own anger to keep Xander away from her until it was almost time to leave Sunnydale for good. She regretted that, but knew that they had at least parted as friends.

(Sunnydale)

Willow smiled as she entered the place she had only heard about from a few fellow witches in the area. The man who lived here was called Rack and he was a warlock with the ability to increase someone's power and this is what she needed to finally deal with Xander, Tara and Jenny and get them off her case.


	2. Chapter 2

Call of the Wild Chapter 2

(Sunnydale, Hospital)

Jenny looked up from the magazine she was reading, as Tara and Giles made their way into the waiting area. She was surprised to actually see Rupert had come to check up on Xander, considering his attitude after Willow had put him through a table.

She decided to keep what she had felt to herself until Rupert had left. She did not trust him not to go straight to Buffy, who would of course then label Xander as dangerous or worse she would get Willow to use magic to try and undue whatever Janus had done and most likely causing permanent harm to him. No matter how strong Willow had become she did not have the power to match a god. Although she suspected that the stupid young woman imagined she could beat anyone with her magic these days, considering her attitude.

"How is he?" Tara inquired, as she came to a stop in front of her with Giles just behind her.

"He still has not woken up," Jenny replied, as she put the magazine down and stood stretching a bit as she did. "I am worried about just what kind of backlash Willow unleashed and what kind of effect it has had on Alexander," she explained with a troubled look in her eyes.

Ever since Xander had saved her life during the Angelus crisis she had become quite close to the young man. He was the one member of the so called Scooby gang who never had a problem with why she had come to Sunnydale in the first place. Unlike Buffy, Giles and Willow who called her a traitor and tried to blame what happened to Angel on her. Xander understood that she was just following her duty to her people.

They had a very strong friendship which had sometimes become a fall back, when things with the others were as bad as during the last year of school. As Buffy tried to push him out of the group, it was her who consoled and helped him deal with a zombie gang who tried to blow up the school during the attempted re-opening of the Hellmouth by the Sisterhood of Jhe, something none of the rest of the gang knew about, even today.

She had also been the only person not to accuse him of being behind the fluke between him and Willow and had listened when he broke down and confessed why he had done it. She knew before Cordelia left she also learnt this truth and so she had parted on friendly terms with Xander and she was happy for him. Since then the group had changed a lot and with the appearance of the Initiative Buffy was once again trying to push Xander out of the group, but like before he was not budging. This fight was personal for Alex, she knew it and it was something Buffy did not understand or even tried too. She forgot long ago that for some people this was a war for the very survival of their species.

Buffy had only ever seen being the Slayer as a curse and a burden. Buffy did not see the wider scope of things as Alexander had come to see it. On his road trip at the end of last year she had gone with him, just to get out of Sunnydale. They had seen much more of the fight, including meeting other defenders in certain places. She had seen the impact of some of what he had been told in his eyes even today and she knew in her heart he would never step away from this fight for a long time.

"It was black and cold," Tara's soft voice broke her train of thought and brought her back to the present. "She has fallen much further than we feared Jenny," she added with a sad look and a shake of her head.

"I felt it too Tara," Jenny agreed. "I fear what will happen now and believe she will try and remove us or anyone else who tries to stop her rise in power," she admitted.

Giles shook his head and coughed to get their attention before speaking. "I do not believe things are as bad as you are painting them," he told them. "If you would leave her alone and stop attacking her and making it out she is evil then maybe this might not have happened," he continued, removing his glasses and cleaning them. "Have you considered that you have pushed her so much that she lashed out?" he asked.

"Rupert, you can ignore the truth as much as you want, but in the end you know in your heart Willow has lost herself in an addiction to magic and she is only getting worse," Jenny countered. "If Tara and I are correct she is even worse off than we feared and that makes her an even greater threat. One we should not ignore," she argued. "I hope you are not going to be stupid in this regard just to keep Summers happy?" she inquired.

Giles put his glasses back on and looked at his former lover and the young witch, as they looked at him expectantly. He sighed, wishing none of this was happening, but as before in every situation they had faced his pleas were useless.

"I just do not think Willow is as lost as you paint her to be and I wish you would have more faith in her," Giles finally spoke, even though he suspected they were quite correct on their opinion of Willow. He just hoped they were wrong and he was doing the right thing.

"Fine ignore it Giles and when it blows up in your face, you better be damn ready to help bring her down, because I swear to you on my Romany blood if Alexander or Tara come to harm, I will have revenge on you and Summers," Jenny exploded with a deadly glint in her eyes, as she stared at her former lover, unable to see why she had ever thought him worthy of her attention.

Giles paled slightly at the oath Jenny had just sworn. He knew she was deadly serious. He began to feel the whole situation was slipping through his fingers. He nodded and finally turned and left for his home, wondering what the hell he was going to do if and in his mind that was a big if, they were right about Willow.

Jenny watched him go and shook her head in annoyance, before pushing him out of her mind and turning to Tara. She guided the younger girl to a chair, once seated she began to explain what she had felt an hour ago and her fears of what it meant. As herself, Tara was confused as to why Janus would do this, but seemed to think it may might not be such a bad thing.

Jenny considered this and wondered exactly how it could be a good thing?

(Rosenberg House)

Willow lay on her bed with her eyes closed, breathing deeply. Her whole body felt on fire and her magic swirled around her in ways it had never done before. Rack had agreed to aid her, for a price of course.

He had charged her power and it had sent her for a loop which she was still coming down from. It was almost like what she suspected being on drugs felt like. However Rack had warned her of the side effects of his power and stated it would wear off in an half hour. She couldn't wait to try out her new powers.

(Just Outside Sunnydale)

Cordelia watched as they passed the sign indicating they were entering Sunnydale and she took a deep breath, as she realised she was home again. Granted she had vowed never to return to Sunnydale, but some things overrode that and helping a friend topped them all.

She noted Wesley was awake once again and was looking slightly uneasy about being back as well and she guessed it was because of his perceived failures as a watcher that caused it. He had never forgiven himself for failing to be a better watcher and Faith's sudden appearance in L.A had only reinforced this.

The attack of the dark haired slayer had been hard for them both as it stirred memories of a time they would rather forget. That Faith was now in prison, having been convinced by Angel to atone for her crimes did nothing to help forget the scars she had left in her wake.

"I wonder what the situation will be when we arrive," Wesley finally spoke up, breaking the tense silence in the car as they entered the town.

"Head to the hospital Angel," Cordelia ordered, ignoring Wesley's speculation. "I saw it first in my vision, so I am guessing that something has already happened," she explained when the souled vampire shot her a look through the mirror, before nodding his head at the pointed glare she gave him.

"Are you worried he is already hurt?" Angel finally broke his own silence, knowing this was likely what his friend was thinking.

"Yes I am," Cordelia responded. "The vision was more informative than usual Angel and considering the hospital was the first thing I saw, I think it is clear something has already happened and Xander maybe hurt," she explained.

"Why would your vision of this be clearer than anything you've seen before?" Wesley broke in with an interested look.

"I don't know Wes," Cordelia admitted with a shake of her head. "I can only assume that saving Xander is important to some greater scheme the powers have" she speculated, unaware the powers had nothing to do with the vision she had received.

Angel was unable to stop himself and let out a grunt of disagreement at this. In no way could Xander Harris have any importance to the powers that be he thought. He caught the glare Cordelia gave him for this, but this time he shrugged it off as they both knew they would never agree on this. His hatred of Xander and vice versa was just too strong to believe him being useful to anyone.

(Sunnydale, Hospital)

Jenny and Tara sat wondering how long it would be, before Xander would awaken. They were worried he would not wake up for some time as well as they were worried about what Willow may try next. Jenny looked up as she heard something and was shocked to see Cordelia Chase walk into the waiting room, followed by Wesley Price and to her displeasure Angel. She quickly stood and greeted the younger woman

"What are you doing back here and what brought you here, Cordy?" she asked, trying to get over her shock at seeing the girl again, considering her hatred of this town.

"I had a vision of what was happening in Sunnydale and came to help stop Willow," Cordelia answered, knowing the whole Scooby gang was up to date on what was going on in L.A., thanks to the continued contact between Buffy and Angel. "How is he?" she inquired. "And what did she do?" she added a second later.

"We were in an argument Cordelia, one of many Xander, Tara and I have been having with Willow recently," Jenny informed them. "She has begun to fall into an addiction to magic and has been using it for mundane reasons and this time she unleashed a backlash of magic, which sent Xander flying into a table and knocked him out cold and so far he has not woken up," she explained. "The backlash was both cold and black magic, both Tara and I could feel it, but Buffy and Giles refuse to act. They've refused to do anything about Willow, leading up to this situation," she stated with an annoyed look.

Cordelia frowned at this last piece of information and she promised to confront both of them later on. Hearing her former teacher's opinion on how Willow's magic felt, worried her. She knew Jenny Calendar well and she knew the older woman was an experienced magic user, so when she said something to this effect you knew to take it seriously.

She had never met Tara Mcclay before, but she had heard of the young witch who was now helping the Scooby gang from Angel after his last trip back to Sunnydale. She greeted the younger woman and took a moment to look her over. She could see the young witch was worried for Xander's health which pleased her, but also how they would deal with Willow. This brought her back to the problem at hand.

"Do we know where she is?" Angel finally spoke up, still not really believing the red head was the problem and he defiantly did not believe Buffy was ignoring the situation.

"Not at the moment," Tara responded. "She stormed out of the shop after glaring at us and the look on her face was frightening," she said with a noticeable shiver.

"I'm going to go and talk to Buffy and Giles and see what they have to say on the subject," Angel responded, ignoring Cordelia's frown and began to walk away followed by Wesley.

"Just don't believe everything that comes out of that blond bimbo's head Angel or so help me I will stake you," Cordelia's voice stopped him in his tracks. "This is serious and you cannot take her word on everything. Xander's life is in our hands now," she continued talking towards him after he turned to face her again. "Do you get me?" she demanded, poking him in the stomach.

"Yes I got you Cordy, but don't call her a blond bimbo again," Angel replied with a grimace, knowing that like with him and Xander there was no love lost between the two former cheerleaders.

"I wouldn't, if she didn't continue to make bad choices," Cordelia shot back, before turning her back on him and finally walking into Xander's room, followed by Jenny and Tara who had already been allowed in once before.

Angel stared at the door for a few minutes, before turning and walking out of the hospital, knowing this mission was not going to end well. He would have to be careful how he handled this.

"Cordelia seems very protective of Mr. Harris." Wesley's comment broke him out of his dark thoughts.

"Of course she is Wes," Angel stated, coming to a halt near their car. "He was her first love and no matter what happened between them, that counts for something and I know they are still friends," he explained. "The fact that Willow is the problem just makes this more personal for Cordy, as she blames her for breaking Xander and herself up," he added as he finally got into the car and started the engine.

"And what is your opinion?" Wesley inquired, having missed most of this even though he had been in Sunnydale at the time, he'd had other things on his mind to keep him busy.

"It was both their fault, but I have to agree with Cordy that Willow was most likely the aggressor in perusing the affair," Angel reluctantly admitted, as he pulled out of the car park. "One thing I will say about Xander is that he is loyal to his friends and especially to someone he loves and he loved Cordelia," he told the former watcher. "I could tell," he stated.

(Rosenberg House)

Willow looked down at the rat in the cage, wondering if what she was about to do would work. She had failed to change Amy Madison back into a human being multiple times, but she hoped that it would work with her power boost from Rack.

She had decided she needed help to take on Xander and the others, especially as she considered that Buffy and Giles would eventually try and stop her as well. She wanted more power and that was not something the former watcher would ignore. Once she started attacking the others, Buffy would also see that action would have to be taken. It was a shame it had come to this, but in the end she deserved to be in charge as she was the most powerful member of the group.

She would form a coven with a little help from Amy and then she would increase her power, whilst she dealt with her former allies and friends. Rack would help her as well for the right price, which would be helpful in her plans. She would not turn back now from this path, she would continue to build up her power and her knowledge of magic until no one else could reach her level.

She began the casting after sprinkling the spell ingredients over Amy's current form, after moving the rat from the cage to the bed, her eyes turned black, as she called on more power, before lifting her hand to point at the rat and then shouted the last verse. A bright purple light exploded from where the rat had been and once it disappeared Willow was pleased to find a very human and very naked Amy Madison looking at her in confusion.

"What the hell in going on?" Amy demanded to know, as she looked around before noting she was naked. "And why the hell am I naked?" she asked glaring at Willow.

"You've been a rat for a couple months now Amy, almost for a full year in fact," Willow responded. "I finally managed to turn you back and I did it because I need your help to deal with some troublesome people," she added with a dark smirk.

Amy considered what the red head had said before smiling back, if almost a year had gone by she needed to get out and see what had changed as well as start using magic again. She was strong in magic, but not as strong as she could feel Willow was and that was what she wanted. Power was what she craved and Willow could help her achieve it.

"I'm in," she said simply and then watched confused as Willow sat beside her and then pulled her into a deep kiss.

The kiss surprised her as the last she remembered Willow had been with Oz, clearly that was no longer the case as she allowed herself to be pushed backwards onto the bed, where the red head's hand cupped one of her breasts causing her to groan.

"You and me Amy," Willow whispered into her hair, "we're going to have a lot of fun," she said making Amy smile.

The smile was lost as Willow began sucking her other breast, whilst her other hand moved towards her centre, she wasn't exactly sure this was right, but she had been a rat for far too long and she craved human contact and so she gave herself over to the red head.

She arched her back as she felt Willow's fingers penetrate her and tried to keep her moans back, but she found she couldn't. Each thrust made her cry out as did the attention Willow gave to her breasts. She moaned in protest as Willow stopped, but understood when she watched the red head strip until she was as naked as herself.

When Willow rejoined her they quickly got into a position to each give the other pleasure and soon lost themselves. Amy was new to this kind of sex, but she learned quickly and soon had Willow moaning as she thrust her tongue into the girls' wet entrance. This continued for twenty minutes until they each brought the other to climax, crying out in pleasure as they rode the sensations out.

"Not bad," Willow commented as she turned and crawled up to be face to face with Amy. "But you need some pointers," she added with a smirk, which Amy returned knowing they were just getting started

(Sunnydale, Hospital)

Xander's eyes snapped open and he quickly took in the room he currently was in. He frowned as he realised that he was once again in the one place he hated more than his parents house, the damn hospital. His frown deepened as he tried to remember how he came to be here. Once the memory of what had happened surfaced he swore loudly, whilst his eyes flashed green and he felt a shift within himself. He paused as he sat up and wondered why he felt so different.

"Xander, you're awake," a recognisable voice said from the side and one he had not heard in person in a long while.

He turned, stunned to see Cordelia Chase rush over and pull him into a hug, followed by Tara and Jenny who smiled at him, pleased to finally see their friend awake.

"Cordy, what the hell are you doing here?" he asked. "I thought you said you would never come back home?" he added, somewhat confused by the look in the brunette's eyes as she looked him over.

"I had a vision of what was going on in Sunnydale and came to help you deal with that red headed bitch," Cordelia almost snarled, all of her repressed hate for the other woman surfacing. "I know you are up to date with what I do in L.A. so I don't have to tell you I'm not alone," she added, hoping Xander would accept the help from Angel.

"Actually I've missed good old dead boy," Xander said with a smirk, which was slightly evil. "No seriously, compared to farm boy Finn, Angel is the life of the party," he told her at her disbelieving look. "Plus I might have missed making fun of him," he admitted.

Cordelia stared at him for a minute, before breaking into laughter, knowing nothing on this earth could stop Xander making fun of Angel, it was just not possible. She was also relieved to find he seemed to be okay after the attack, but that did not mean Willow was going to get away with what she had done. This thought caused her to stop laughing and Xander noticed straight away.

"Easy Cor," he said, taking her hand in his, unconsciously using his pet name for her, which brought a small smile to her face and reminded her of better times. "I'm okay and I am shocked to see you again and as for Willow we will deal with her together," he told her.

Cordelia looked him in the eyes and tried to contain the sudden urge to kiss him. She knew she had unresolved feelings towards Xander, but for them to return so strong surprised her. Jenny and Tara shared a knowing look between themselves, as the other two continued to stare at each other.

(Ether)

Janus laughed madly to himself, as he wondered when they would realise he had tweaked the hyena spirit to include a primal pull to any female who had an interest in his champion.

It worked faster with someone who actually had deep feelings for Alexander like the seer, but also on someone who fancied or lusted for him, as well as the young witch and the techno pagan, both women had feelings for the young man they would not admit, at least not yet, in time he was sure the pull would cause them both to finally express themselves. Oh the situations Alexander would find himself in would cause much chaos and keep him entertained for years he was sure.

The primal pull was just one of the ways he had changed and upgraded the two spirits within his champion to help him on his way. It was the one change however he was counting on to cause havoc with the other gods and the powers that be long term plans, especially the fallen power that was called Jasmine.

The other upgrades to the hyena spirit included the agility, speed and the heightened senses. It would also affect how the young man thought and saw things or reacted to certain situations.

The soldier spirit had not needed as much done to it to be helpful, except for him to ensure it would not give Alexander nightmares or override his personality. The experience and skills would be available to him and it would also affect changes in his body to make him fitter and conditioned for tough situations.


	3. Chapter 3

Call of the Wild Chapter 3

(Sunnydale, Hospital)

Xander sat on his bed as the doctor checked him over now that he was awake. He really wanted to get out of the damn hospital, as it was one place he felt he stayed in far too often. He also wanted to get out and start tracking Willow, before she went and did something really bad. That his friend was now a threat was a blow, but he was determined to deal with the problem and bring her under control, no matter what it took.

Cordelia stood off to one side with Jenny and Tara and watched. They could all see the impatience in Xander's eyes, as the doctor continued to run his tests to see if there were any lasting effects from the attack.

Cordelia continued to think of her sudden reawakened feelings for Xander. She was still confused as to why they had come back so strong. Was it possible she had been ignoring any attraction she still felt for him before she left for L.A? Did her falling for Doyle blind her to the fact that she still loved Xander?

Her head was a mess and she was conflicted. She knew at the moment that was the worst thing she could be, they still had to deal with Willow and here she was trying to find how she felt about Xander. She glanced over to where Jenny and Tara stood and noted they were watching her with understanding looks and she guessed they knew what was going on within her. She wondered if she should discuss this with them, maybe they could help her clear her head.

"You seem to be fine Mr. Harris," the doctor's voice broke her train of thoughts and made her look back to where Xander was, noting the grimace on his face at how he was addressed. "There does not seem to be any lasting effects from the attack or from being put through a table," he added, having been told he was attacked during an attempted robbery at the magic shop.

"That's great doc," Xander said relieved. "So can I get out of here? No offense, but I do not like being in the hospital," he added with a strained smile.

The doctor actually laughed, not surprised at all by what his patient had said, "I think it is safe to allow you to leave, as long as you do not over exert yourself for a day or two. Make sure to rest as well and if there is any renewed pain or symptoms, you return to the hospital and see me is that understood?" he inquired.

"Yeah Doc, I understand," Xander agreed. "Thanks for you help," he added, as he got out of bed and accepted the spare set of clothes Tara had brought him.

He started to change once the doctor and the others had left the room. His mind focused on the problem at hand, whilst also trying to ignore the joy he felt at seeing Cordelia face to face again. He had missed his one time lover very much since she left for L.A. In their time apart she had grown and changed, but still retained that inner beauty he admired so much. Of course she still looked like a knock out as well, he had felt a small urge to lean in and kiss her when they were staring each other in the eyes, but had not had the nerve to do it.

Once he was done changing, he quickly headed for the door and left the room eager to be out of this damn place and he hoped he did not end up here again anytime soon.

(Magic Box)

Buffy and Giles looked up as the door of the shop opened and were shocked to see Angel and Wesley calmly walk in. Buffy began to get the usual feelings she got whenever she saw or talked to her former lover. She breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that Riley was not here right now, as that would have turned this meeting ugly very fast, like Xander Riley hated vampires and especially her former lover. When he had learned she had once been lovers with a vampire it had caused a huge strain on their relationship which had only just started to fade.

She stood and watched as the two men walked over to the table, their faces gave nothing away, as to what had brought them here and she was wondering where Cordelia was, considering she was part of the vampire's group. Suddenly she began to get a very bad feeling as to what had brought them here, considering what had been happening lately she would not be surprised to learn that is why they were here.

"Angel, Wesley to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?" Giles inquired, breaking into her thoughts and to realize her watcher was now standing to her left.

Angel could hear the undertone of dislike in Giles's tone as he spoke. His stint as Angelus had changed the nature of his working relationship with the man as well as his near murder of Jenny Calendar. He suspected that had he succeeded in killing the woman the dislike would be outright hatred. He winced as he realized for once he was grateful to Xander Harris for something.

"Cordelia had a vision that had to do with you and the group," Angel responded, after noticing the raised eyebrow from Giles at his hesitance and Buffy's sudden stiff posture. "In it she saw Xander's life in danger," he added, before finally admitting the last part, "from Willow," he stated.

As expected Buffy's eyes widened in shock and Giles began to look very concerned. Finally Buffy began to pace, but strangely there was no explosion of anger and he wondered why?

"We headed straight to the hospital as Cordelia said she saw it there first and we bumped into Tara and Miss Calendar," Wesley picked up the story. "They informed us that Miss Rosenberg has become addicted to magic and a danger and that she put Mr. Harris through a table after unleashing a powerfully warped backlash of magic," he explained, watching how Giles and Buffy exchanged unsure looks. "Clearly they are not misreading the situation, considering the looks on your faces," he stated firmly.

"Calendar also said you are ignoring the fact Willow has snapped," Angel finally spoke up again, wishing he was not being forced to be so blunt with his former lover. "So what exactly is going on Buffy? And please don't say they are making it up, because Cordelia would not have got a vision if this was not serious," he reminded them coolly, wincing at the look Buffy gave him for his tone.

"Vision or not Angel, I can't believe Willow is a bad guy," Buffy snapped. "Alright, she put Xander through a table, but considering he, Jenny and Tara had been hounding her day in and day out what did you expect her to do?" she demanded to know. "It was bound to come to a head, no matter what and they are the cause," she pushed, unable and unwilling to see it any other way.

Angel listened to what she told them and whilst he wished he could believe and take her at her word, he doubted what she said. It was more than just Cordelia's warning that kept him from believing her, it was the way in which she spoke. Her tone told him she had no real idea what was going on and basing her choice on who to believe on her friendship to Willow, which had in his opinion always been stronger than that with Xander.

"Buffy no offense, but it doesn't sound like you even believe there is a problem. To me it looks like you are letting your friendship with Willow cloud your judgment," he told her, making her frown as he had never before questioned or disbelieved her.

"Angel, how can you say that?" Buffy asked, unsure how to feel about his response.

"Because of the vision Cordelia has seen, as well as the tone as you spoke," Angel replied. "You want to believe this Buffy. You want to believe Willow is innocent, but the truth is it is possible she has lost control and if she has then she is a threat to us all," he stated. "Maybe she is not as far gone as they believe and maybe she is not gone at all, as you believe, but something is going on in Sunnydale and we have to find out what," he said, compromising what he was beginning to suspect, so as to get them to help him until the truth came out one way or the other.

Buffy stared at her ex lover and for the first time began to doubt what was actually going on. Was it possible Willow had slipped and become dangerous? She wondered.

The idea was ludicrous to her mind, so much that she wanted to laugh, but she could not. With Angel and his crew in Sunnydale brought by a vision granted to them by the Powers it just may very well be the truth. She shivered at the very thought of it.

Giles also stood contemplating just what the truth was. Was what his gut told him about Willow true? That she had indeed lost herself in an addiction to magic or was he right to think she had managed to keep herself in line?

(Ether)

Janus chuckled to himself as the slayer and her friends continued to believe that the Powers had sent the seer the vision that had brought them back to Sunnydale. He found it strange how easy the humans were to trick or lead astray when needed. They were created by the great creator as her most valued creations and yet they were so easily manipulated. The many gods, goddesses and other powers she created to manage the world had played them to their own plans throughout the centuries and they were still none the wiser.

The time of many gods may be over, as far as the humans were concerned, but they were still there, hidden behind the scenes like he himself was. They still had their servants on Earth to do their bidding. Granted that was why the balance the Powers were so concerned with was easy to maintain, but it also opened up a path for it to be destroyed, if pushed to far one way, but in their arrogance the Powers ignored it. He turned his attention back to his champion. At least now that Alexander was awake again, the true chaos would begin and at that thought he burst out laughing in anticipation. His laughter stopped suddenly as Whistler appeared before him, looking grim and somewhat nervous to be in front of him.

"Why do you come before me demon?" he demanded, having never liked the demons the Powers employed as balance enforcers.

"I've been charged by the lead power in finding the source of the massive interruption in the lines of fate and the balance," Whistler responded, knowing he had to show respect to the god or he risked been fried like an egg, no matter who he worked for. "Considering who is at the centre of the change and that signs of your magic linger on him I thought you'd be a good place to start," he added.

"Really?" Janus said glaring at the balance demon, who shuffled nervously in place. "I know nothing of who is responsible for making the witch do what she did and I also do not know why it did what it did to the one who sees," he stated. "My magic lingers on him due to the spell cast by Ethan long ago. Some things do not fade with time as you well know," he said almost in a threatening manner and was pleased to see the demon start to sweat.

"He is a now a threat to the whole world," Whistler shot back. "The changes are already rippling out like a stone in a pond, hitting other people's destinies and changing them," he explained. "It has to be stopped, before the damage is irreversible," he warned. "Considering this kid has a knack for somehow averting destiny like he did, when the blond slayer was killed the first time and also saving the Romany woman from Angelus I'd say he just became more dangerous," he finished with a shake of his head.

"Hear me well demon," Janus all but growled. "Your bosses were created to guide and maintain the world, not to control it and they are forbidden to interfere in the lives of the humans, even their champions," he reminded, as he stepped closer. "They have been pushing that boundary for years as their arrogance has grown. My fellow gods and goddesses have been watching them closely and I give you fair warning, if you harm Alexander or anyone else, trying to undo what has been done we will destroy them and you," he threatened as thunder began to echo around the ether.

Whistler wanted to run and hide, as the god of chaos got angry. What he had said was true. There was a lot of rules that the Powers were supposed to obey, but lately they had been able to basically ignore them, but now it looked as if the Powers were being watched carefully. He doubted the Powers would back off. They were obsessive about maintaining the balance and Alexander Harris now threatened it like never before.

"Freewill is the gift of every human being, as commanded by the creator and no matter who is behind this event and that command is still in effect. Alexander did not ask for this to happen and is not even aware that something has happened," Janus's voice broke through his thoughts. "As to what has already been changed by this event tell me demon, is it really so bad what has been changed? Or do you agree with what was going to happen to them?" he inquired dangerously.

"It isn't for me to say one way or the other," Whistler shot back. "I just do what I'm told," he added before vanishing, wondering what the hell was going to happen if the Powers decided to remove Alexander permanently.

Janus watched him go and let loose a feral smile, as none of what he had said had been a lie, expect the beginning when he had said he did not know who was responsible at least for Alexander. He did not know who had caused the witch to snap so fast, although it would have happened in time. Someone was clearly up to something, but he doubted it was anything truly dangerous.

(Sunnydale)

Xander walked beside Cordelia and Tara with Jenny on his other side, they were all in deep thought on how to confront and contain Willow. So far each idea they'd had had been shot down by one of the others, as either too dangerous or just damn right stupid. He was feeling frustrated, but so far could not come up with the answer and that was annoying him quite a bit.

Cordelia was distracted now and then, as she walked by looking around at how the town she had been born and grown up in had changed. There were a few new shops here and there she noted, which she knew, had she still been rich she would always be visiting. That realization made her frown, before she shrugged it off and went back to thinking of a way to help stop Willow.

(Rosenberg House)

Willow flipped through the book of spells, whilst Amy was busy writing down a few names she knew of people in Sunnydale, who had actual powers.

Since Amy had been a witch way before Willow, she knew others who had started following the path as well, before she turned herself into a rat. Some of them would become their allies in taking down Xander and the others.

She had decided she would force Tara to join them, as she was a powerful witch and if she refused, she would be forced to aide them. Jenny however would pay just like Xander for constantly trying to stop her rise in power and for treating her like a little girl.

A cold dark smirk lit up on her face, as she thought of finally showing all of her former friends the true extent of her power. Of just how much better she was than them, even Buffy was nothing compared to her. Oh the fun she would have, now that she was free from the bindings of her former friendships that no longer seemed to matter to her.

"I finished the list," Amy said, as she handed it over. "I don't know how many of them are still in town, considering I've been a rat for almost a year, but these are the strongest I knew," she added.

"Very good," Willow responded, as she snapped the book shut. "Once we have our coven, our revenge will begin," she said cruelly, before she led her fellow witch out of the house.

(Croft Manor, England)

Lara Croft sat at her desk bored, as at the moment she had nothing to do. She had not come across anything that attracted her attention and no one had called to hire her to find something. It was times like these that really got onto her nerves. Her mind started to play recent events again and again and that meant seeing her father again. Her dealings with the Illuminate still troubled her, as did her choice to destroy the triangle, but she knew in her heart her father had been right, it had to be destroyed and that meant he had to die again.

But just the fact, that she had been able to finally say goodbye to him had healed a hole in her heart, which had been open far too long. She felt more whole than she had before the whole situation had begun. Her father had died, trying to protect the world and her from the dangers the triangle represented and she had helped finished his work. She knew he was proud of her and that was enough. She jumped as her phone rang before she picked it up

"Hello?" she inquired.

"Lady Croft? This is Professor William Price," an English accent came back. "I am interested in hiring you to locate something of great historical value and one that has many myths surrounding it," the voice added.

Lara frowned, as she did not recognize the name of the Professor, but then she did not know them all, just the more world famous ones. He already had her interested as she really needed something do to.

"And what is the object and do you have any leads?" she inquired, getting right on to business.

"The object is called the Gem of Amara and the myths surrounding it suggest that it is able to stop a vampire from being killed by sunlight or even staking," the voice chuckled over the line. "Clearly I do not believe in vampires, but I do believe the ring had special properties and would be worth a spot in my museum," the voice added.

Lara frowned, as she knew from her past experiences that vampires truly did exist and the idea of a ring that could help them survive the only things known to kill them, sent a shiver down her spine. Maybe it was best if she did locate this ring and destroy it.

"And leads on its location?" she asked, keeping her voice even.

"A small town in California called Sunnydale. Last reports suggest it was buried in a tomb under one of the cemeteries," the voice replied. "If you manage to locate the ring Lady Croft, I will be pay you well for your time. Are you interested?" the voice asked.

"I am Professor, very much so," Lara replied. "I will need a contact number so I can keep you up to day on my progress, as well as a few more details on the town and the ring," she added and then began to write down what she was told before hanging up.

She leaned back in her chair and wondered if the ring was for real, before deciding it was best if she found out before calling for Hillary and asking him to book her plane ticket to L.A., which was the closest airport to Sunnydale.

(Hertfordshire, England)

Spike smirked, as he put the phone down and leaned back against the telephone box. His new plan was now in play and soon he would have the one thing he needed to have his revenge on his grandsire, the slayer and her friends. At first he was going to find the Gem of Amara himself, but he decided that the risk of being found out by the Sunnydale crew before he could locate the ring was too high. By using Lara Croft to find the ring he was safe to wait in the shadows, until it was time to claim the ring.

He had done the research to at least find where the damn thing was and that it was in Sunnydale was a two edged sword, but in the end it just added to his choice of using Croft. She was well known in the demonic and mystical community for locating many objects with mystical powers and having a lot of run-ins with vampires and demons during her travels. Hence he had not doubted she would take the job, now he would head back to the warlock and pay him to transport him back to America, so he can settle in and watch until Croft arrived and located his ring.


	4. Chapter 4

Call of the Wild Chapter 4

(Magic Box)

Xander entered the shop, followed directly by Cordelia, Tara and Jenny. He smiled as he saw Angel and Wesley standing in front of Buffy and Giles, clearly in the middle of a conversation.

He had not been lying, when he had said he had missed making fun of Angel. He found Riley Finn to be just annoying. In the fact he did not seem to have much of a personality. When he was insulted he just looked blankly at him. The only thing he agreed with Riley on was the fact that it was wrong to date or have sexual relations with a vampire, as Buffy had done with Angel. Oh he remembered that argument when Riley had found out about Buffy's past.

He had thought that Riley's obsessive streak of anything that was a demon needed to be destroyed would surly end his relationship with Buffy, but surprisingly they had endured, still now that Angel was back, he wondered just how strong that relationship would prove to be?

Turning his attention back to Angel he noted the look of distaste he had on his face at seeing him again. Considering their last meeting, he was not too surprised by that, but he just smiled back which caused Angel to frown in confusion.

"Hey Dead Boy, you would not believe how much I missed you," Xander said, his smile turning into a smirk, as Angel and Buffy began to really look annoyed. "So how have you been? You know, you still look a little pale maybe you need to tan a bit," he added, causing the girls to burst into laughter at the idea of the souled vampire sun bathing, whilst Giles seemed to smile.

Of course Buffy and Angel growled in annoyance, completely frustrated with Xander's inability not to poke fun at him. He had done it from the moment they had met and even now, four years later, he still refused to stop. Angel had the urge to rip the smug git in half, but he doubted the others would appriacte that, plus something was bugging him about Xander. He seemed different and even smelt somewhat different. He frowned and was wondering what was going on.

"Xander will you please give it a rest," Buffy hissed in anger. "I would think you would be tired of the same jokes by now," she added, with a shake of her head.

"That was new. I've been saving up new material in the event of his return," Xander shot back grinning. "And low and behold, look who's here," he continued, indicating Angel who looked like he was going to combust.

"I didn't come here to be insulted Harris. I came to help you, if Cordelia's vision was accurate," Angel countered, before being slammed across the room.

Everyone was shocked, as one second ago Xander was standing near the door and the next he was half way across the room, slamming into Angel and sending the souled vampire into the far off wall. His face a mask of anger and his eyes flashing green, indicating something was off with him.

"What the hell?" Cordelia said, as Angel fell to his knees looking like he was actually in pain.

"How did you do that?" she asked Xander, while moving closer to him.

"I don't know," Xander said just as confused as the others, as he looked down at Angel. "You know how much I hate my last name Cor. Him saying it like that just pissed me off and I just did it," he explained as best he could, again using his pet name for her.

Cordelia found she did not mind him calling her that again, in fact if she was honest with herself she had missed it. Still she found this display disturbing. She looked to the side to see Jenny and Tara discussing something and when she moved closer, they quickly moved over and told her their suspicions.

Buffy quickly went and helped Angel back to his feet, giving Xander a glare as she went. There was something familiar about all this, but she could not quite put her finger on it. She could see the clear confusion on her friend's face, so she at least believed he had not done it on purpose. Giles and Wesley were trying to question Xander, but he seemed to be lost in his own little world.

"Enough, we can get back to his later," Cordelia said, raising her voice. "We are here to deal with Willow. I had a vision in which she snapped and was going to go after Xander in a manner which would be harmful in the extreme," she explained. "Now where is she?" she demanded to know of Buffy, who could see the anger and hate the brunette still held for her friend.

"I don't know Cordelia," Buffy said indignantly, not liking the attitude of her former friend. "I haven't seen her since she put Xander through the table, because he would not leave her alone and making her out to be evil," she snapped, only to be shocked into silence as Cordelia smacked her across the face.

Angel winced, knowing that Buffy's response would just infuriate Cordy that much more than she already was. Wesley shook his head in dismay, whilst Giles looked gobsmacked at Cordelia's actions. Xander and the girls just stared in amazement, as it was clear Cordelia had changed a lot more than they had thought.

"You are so stupid," Cordelia bit out in clear agitation. "Or blind, I don't know which would be worse. I had a vision showing Willow had snapped or are you not listening?" she demanded, as Buffy came out of her stupor and felt the stinging mark Cordelia had left. "I only get visions when something is wrong or someone is in danger and that someone is Xander. Now you are going to wake up and let go of your childish wish that everything is fine and help us stop her and save Xander do you understand me?" she asked dangerously.

Buffy stared at Cordelia, unsure how to take her actions and unsure why she was so aggressive. She had not been like this before, but then people changed and it was clear the former head cheerleader was no longer afraid of her and that she would no longer be content to let Buffy make the choices that defined their actions.

"Ok we find Willow and ensure your vision is correct, but we will take no action unless she attacks first," Buffy finally relented. "Something, I don't think she will do," she added, ignoring the cold glare Cordelia and Jenny gave her at that.

"You are insane if you believe that. Consider everything we've been through since you got into Sunnydale, we do not live a charmed life, we live a life of constant danger and face death nearly every time we go out to fight a new evil," Jenny snapped, before Cordelia could retort.

"Hold up I have an idea," Xander said, as a sudden idea finally came to him after Jenny had said the word charmed.

Although the argument he had been trying to l come up with a way to help bring Willow down without causing her too much harm, how he had forgotten the people he and Jenny had met on their road trip the year before was beyond him, but he knew exactly who to call on. Who had the experience to deal with an insane witch even more than them.

"What kind of idea Alex?" Jenny inquired, noting the almost annoyed expression Xander had telling her he had missed something and he was annoyed at himself, something that happened often.

"You gave me the idea Jenny. When you said the word charmed. We know three women who know how to handle an insane witch better than us," Xander responded with a smile at her and noted her eyes widened, as she quickly caught on before groaning at realizing she had forgotten them just as much as Alex had.

"Excuse me, but who are you talking about?" Wesley broke into their conversation.

"Jenny and I went on a road trip last year just after we defeated the Mayor and we met a few of the other champions fighting the same fight we do. One set of these champions were three sisters who were to become the most powerful white witches in existence, chosen to be the protectors of the innocent," Xander explained.

"The Charmed Ones," Tara said in shock, knowing the legend, as did most other witches. "You actually met them?" she asked, wishing she could have been there.

"We did and helped them deal with a rather nasty warlock," Xander said with a nod and smile. "They're good people and very strong in the ways of magic," he added.

"And you are only telling us this now because?" Buffy demanded. "You told us nothing happened on your trip," she pointed out.

"We weren't exactly getting on at the time Buffy, remember?" Xander shot back, aggravated at her tone. "Jenny do you still have their number?" he asked, turning to his friend who nodded.

"I'll have to go back home to get it," Jenny said. "If they are actually able to help it should give us more options in dealing with Willow," she added.

"Alright Giles, Wesley and Buffy will go with Jenny, make sure nothing happens to her," Xander ordered in a tone they could all tell was not to be argued with. "The rest of us will try and track Willow down," he added, as he headed for the door.

"Watch your back Alex, its you she wants to deal with the most," Jenny said very concerned about splitting up, causing him to pause and look back giving her a reassuring smile before he left, followed by his group.

She rubbed her eyes before heading out herself, followed by the two former watchers and Buffy. Not exactly the group she would have wished for, but at least she should be safe from the insane witch.

(Sunnydale Bus Stop)

Paige Matthews stepped out of the bus she had come with to Sunnydale and took a quick look around, she saw very few people at the station and only two others followed her off the bus. She shivered, feeling strangely uncomfortable and cold. This whole town for some reason gave her the chills, but she was here for a reason and that was to locate Tara Mcclay.

She had been reported missing from an abusive environment and she had been given the case by her boss, being her first real case since becoming a social worker she was eager to start.

The file on Tara was not very detailed, but stated she had run away at least seven months ago and had not been seen since, abusive treatment was suspected by the police, as well as the neighbors. Her father had refused to comment when she had visited Tara's home, which was in a small neighborhood within the borders of San Francisco. She had not liked the look of the man or his sons who basically gave her the creeps. She hoped that nothing had happened to the young woman, she had been lucky she had found the lead in the campus records of Sunnydale.

She still had no idea why she had started looking into them, it was as if an urge had suddenly gripped her and she had not been able to stop herself and strangely enough it had paid off.

(Ether)

Janus stood next to his fellow gods, Zeus and Loki, who seemed quite pleased with themselves for some reason. He suspected they had a hand in sending the lost sister of the Halliwell's to Sunnydale. He knew his fellow gods were aware of his own actions and what he had basically set in motion, but he had thought they would not get involved until they had proof that the Powers that be were over stepping their bounds.

Clearly he had been wrong about that and that made it all the more fun. If his champion's actions brought the Charmed Ones to Sunnydale, whilst their lost sister was also there than the chance of utter chaos was huge if they met which and he was sure he could arrange that.

Oh this was getting interesting he thought, as he saw a divide open in the balance, as well as the once united front of the heavenly forces. Granted the Powers were not that important to the fight, but for now they were needed.

"I see you've been busy," he noted with amusement, finally breaking the silence.

"It was necessary Janus, as we believe that a god or goddess is behind the witch going insane at this point in time and if not one of us a power or fallen one," Zeus responded with an angered look, causing thunder and lightning to arc across the ether.

"One of us, that is most unlikely?" Janus said in reply. "We have faded from acting on such a scale and are basically forbidden from acting, unless allowed," he reminded his fellow gods.

"You know as well I do Janus that none of us are above doing this, if we really wanted to and we have done worse in our time," Loki cut him off. "No, I am sure it is one of us. It stinks of our kind of interference from the old days," he added with a snort of disdain. "There are those of us who have grown discontent in our roles as basically nothing more than watchdogs," he reminded them, both turning to face him.

"I know, I guess we start looking," Zeus said, troubled by the idea of one of them being behind the whole thing. "Spread the word to your respective families. if it is truly one of us, we must find them before they cause any more havoc, whilst what we have set in motion will only change the fate of the champions of earth, what they have planned could destroy the earth entirely," he ordered, as the highest ranking member of the three.

All three gods vanished in a flash of light to return to their respective zones, each wondering just which of them had decided to go off the rails and defy the orders of the creator.

(Sunnydale)

Willow smiled, as she pushed the witch back down as she tried to escape. This was their third subject on Amy's list. The first, a 19 year old blond haired witch named Sara had easily been convinced to join them for a little extra power, the light in her green eyes showed how much she liked the idea. The second was a 22 year old black haired witch with blue eyes, called Nikki who had sadly put up a fight, and they had been forced into making her join them which had been fun.

This witch was brown haired and was staring at them in horror and distaste, which caused her to frown as it suggested this was another witch that was going to have to be forced into joining them. Her frown quickly turned into a smirk liking that fact. She raised her hand and unleashed her magic with a single word into a pulse, which slammed into the chest of the witch who screamed in agony and began to jerk around in pain.

Amy sat next to Sara watching in amused glee whilst Nikki watched sadly by their side, knowing exactly what her fellow witch was going through. She had not wanted to break, but in the end there was only so much that a human body could take. She closed her eyes and prayed to her goddess to save her from this nightmare along with her sister witch.

"Your name?" Willow demanded, as she stopped the attack, allowing the witch to slump in the chair.

"Gina," the girl gasped, taking in deep breaths as quickly as she could.

"I want you to join our coven, Gina," Willow purred with a smirk. "I have need of your talents and I also need you to aid me in removing some people who stand in my way," she added confidently.

"You are insane and you reek of black magic," Gina spat. "You have fallen from the path and you will be punished," she added, trying to find the link to her own magic.

Sadly she did not get a chance to truly find it, as another wave of magic slammed into her and began to cause her to black out as the pain increased. Willow just smiled, loving the feel of power she had over this person. It was addictive and she liked being in control of others. She stopped the assault for a minute, allowing the witch to stay awake before starting again. They repeated the process another three times before Gina broke down and gave in, crying her eyes out at failing to stay strong. Willow just sneered down at her for her weakness and turned to talk to Amy and Sara whilst Nikki tried to help Gina.

(Sunnydale)

Xander frowned as Tara stated she could not track Willow for some reason, this was bad news, as it meant the red head could be anywhere in the town. They had checked her house and dorm and the only thing off about the house was the fact that Amy, the rat was missing. That chilled him, as he was afraid Willow had hurt Amy or worse turned her back into a human and twisted the blond into helping her.

Either way it was becoming clearer that Willow was not going to go down easily, even if the Charmed Ones could aid them. He finally turned and headed back to the magic shop, followed by the others. They had been searching for an hour with no luck and by now Jenny and others should have returned to the shop, so he guessed seeing what the sisters had said was the best course of action for now.

Across from them Paige noted the girl who looked like the picture of Tara from the file in the group and quickly began to follow them. She was stunned to just end up seeing her target across the street like that.

(Magic Box)

Jenny ignored the argument currently going on between Buffy, Giles and Wesley and waited for Xander and his group to return. Luckily the sisters were not busy right now and were able to help and would be here soon. With the Charmed Ones on their side they had the ability to go head to head with Willow, if they needed too. The argument from the others had started on how to use the Charmed Ones best. They did not understand Prue would take charge once she arrived and allow no one to dictate how she and her sisters acted.

The door opened to allow Xander and his group to enter, silencing the argument mid way. Jenny could tell that they had no luck at all. She sighed, wondering just what the red head was up too right now, as the door closed there was a flash of lights as Leo, Prue, Piper and Phoebe arrived in the middle of the shop, surprising most of the group.

"Oh my lord, a whitelighter," Giles said, as he removed his glasses and started polishing them in amazement.

Leo shivered as he felt the effects of the Hellmouth, which seemed to run throughout the town before he activate one of his powers which formed a shield, which would prevent him from feeling it. Prue smiled in greeting as Jenny and Xander moved over and welcomed them, before she noted someone else she knew in the shop.

"Tara?" she asked in shock.

Everyone looked at the dark blond haired witch, who looked just as shocked as the three sisters did.

Xander was confused, as Tara quickly moved forward and hugged the sisters who quickly returned it.

"Tara, you know Prue and her sisters?" Xander inquired.

"Of course I do. They are my cousins," Tara responded, as she backed up, still in shock. "I've only ever seen them once or twice at a family get together, however since my mum died I haven't been allowed to go to any," she explained in a sadden tone. "What I didn't know is that they are the Charmed Ones," she stated.

The sisters shared a smile at that, still they were wondering what had brought their cousin to the Hellmouth of all places, before anyone could say anything else the door opened again and a short curly black haired young woman with sharp brown eyes entered, only to stop dead as she laid eyes on Prue and the sisters.

"Prue, Piper and Phoebe," Paige stated in shock at seeing her half sisters here somehow, granted she did not know for sure they were her sisters, but she felt connected to them. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Err do we know you?" Piper inquired, for some odd reason she felt a connection to the young woman in front of her.

Prue and Phoebe also felt the pull the young woman had and silence settled on the shop, as everyone just looked either confused or unsure.


	5. Chapter 5

Call of the Wild Chapter 5

(Ether)

The Powers that be were growing concerned, as the Charmed ones arrived in Sunnydale and then their lost half sister walked right into meeting, the balance was been shattered in waves. The one who sees was destroying all of their plans, without even trying, granted he had no hand in the witch losing her mind much earlier than they had planned, but still some action would be required soon. They did not take the threat that had been given to Whistler seriously. The old gods and goddesses could do nothing in this day and age.

(Sunnydale)

Willow approached the next target's house before pausing, as she felt powerful wards all around it. She frowned, wondering just who this witch was. Her power even rivaled her own and that made her mad, but she had help. She glanced at Amy and Sara who nodded, indicating they felt the power as well.

She glared at Nikki and Gina who shivered and averted their eyes not wishing to aid them in capturing another witch and forcing them to aid the insane red head. They could do nothing but watch and pray someone would free them from their bondage.

Willow shook her head in annoyance at the two weaklings, but decided to ignore them for now, before she raised her hand and with a few words unleashed her magic at the wards, joined a second later by Sara and Amy, the wards were indeed powerful, but they failed after 15 minutes of sustained attack. Willow smirked, before again unleashing her magic and blasting the door off its hinges, pleased that this witch lived on the outskirts of town.

They entered the house to find a young Indian witch of about 20 to 21 years of age standing before them in the classical Indian attire. She had straight shiny black hair and inviting hazel eyes which at the moment were hard as ice and glaring at her and her coven.

"You reek of corrupt magic, Rosenberg," the Indian witch spat. "It is pouring out of you in waves. I also see that you are trying to corrupt others like those two," she added, indicating the scared Nikki and Gina who at the glares they received from Willow hugged each other.

"How do you know who I am?" Willow demanded to know, not liking the way this witch talked to her.

"I know all about you and your friends," the Indian witch responded with a cold smile. "You were good people. People I would have been honored to call friends, but clearly that is no longer the case," she continued.

"I have no friends now," Willow instantly spat back, as her hair began to turn black as her power built up along with her anger. "They tried to control me, they failed and in return I will destroy them," she screamed, before unleashing a deadly bolt of power, which should knock the witch cold for a day.

The Indian witch just shook her sadly, as she raised her own hands and allowed her own power to flow. She raised a shield, which not only blocked the attack, but also redirected it at the two witches who had already given in to the red head. She watched with little pleasure as the two screamed and fell to the floor unconscious.

"How did you do that?" Willow asked, as she watched Amy and Sara fall to the floor out cold. She did not understand how this witch could block her power.

"I am Savita Khan and I have been practicing magic since I was a child," the Indian witch replied coldly. "I know more about magic than you will ever know Rosenberg. If you think your corrupt power is something to crow about, then you really have lost your mind," Savita continued, as she felt Willow channel more power.

This magic was deadly and something she could block, but it had been tweaked somehow, most likely by Rack. Rack was a stain on witches and warlocks everywhere. He corrupted them easily without a care in the world as to what happened to them, once he had been paid. Suddenly Nikki and Gina grabbed Willow from behind and pushed her to the ground.

"Go, get help" Gina shouted, knowing Willow would easily counter them, but this witch before them had shown she was not unbeatable and that gave them hope.

Savita paused only for a minute before running out of the house. She did not want to leave her fellow white witches in the red head's hand, but even she could not deal with her alone. The boosts Rosenberg got from Rack pushed over what even she could deal with. She decided to head for the Magic Box and the red heads former friends. Hopefully they could explain why this was happening and maybe help take the insane witch down, before she did anymore damage or subjugated anymore witches.

Back inside the house Willow eyes flashed black, as she unleashed an energy ball right into Gina and Nikki, causing them to let her go and fall to the ground convulsing. She sneered down at the two weaklings, before checking on Sara and Amy. She would have to discipline Gina and Nikki a lot more, so that they would never question her orders again. She raised her hands and blasted them both and caused them to scream.

(Magic Box)

The silence that had descended on the shop continued, as everyone looked between the three sisters and the unknown woman standing in front of the now closed door. Xander wondered exactly who she was. She knew the sisters, but they did not seem to know her? It was a puzzle and one that they did not really have time for right now. He ran a hand through his hair and wondered whether he should speak up.

"Who are you?" Prue's voice broke through his troubled thoughts. "And how do you know us?" she asked seconds later.

Usually when people they did not know knew them or just their names they turned out to be a threat, and from what Jenny had explained of the situation here in Sunnydale, another problem was not what they needed right now. The young woman remained frozen almost in what looked like fear and uncertainty, before anyone else could say anything a sparkling array of lights appeared in front of everyone before convalescing into a tall woman with curly brown hair and kind brown eyes.

The sisters almost stared in shock at seeing their mother come into such a public room without being summoned. Clearly something was very off about all of this. Buffy stiffened a little, but Giles quickly put a retraining hand on her shoulder, glancing at her watcher she noted him shake his head which caused her to relax somewhat.

"Mom?" Phoebe asked, before rushing forward and engulfing her in a hug, joined soon after by Prue and Piper.

The young woman at the door looked like she was about to faint in Xander's opinion and so he moved over to her and helped her over to the table and a chair, before he went and locked the shop up as they did not need interrupting right now.

"What are you doing here Mom?" Prue inquired, wondering why she was here, not that she wasn't happy to see her.

"A lot of reasons, but the main one is to tell you that she is no threat to you," Patricia Halliwell stated with a smile, which was bigger than normal as she took in all four of her girls. "Girls I would like you to meet Paige Matthews, your half sister," she added, deciding to get this out of the way.

Paige listened to the woman speak and felt first shock and then peace settle within her, as the woman verified her connection to the Halliwell family, even if she did not understand how she was standing there.

Leo shook his head as he began to suspect this was not going to go down well.

"What do you mean half sister?" Piper exclaimed in shock. "You and grams never said anything about another sister," she stated and began to pace, whilst her sisters just stared.

"I had to give her up for her protection and not just from the demons, but the elders as well," Patricia responded, knowing this was going to be hard for all of her daughters to understand, but it was important that they get through all of this quickly so she explained other things as well. "Paige is my daughter with Sam, my whitelighter, a union which was forbidden at the time by very harsh punishments. A child born of that union even more so," she explained, as people dropped into seats and just listened.

"It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do and it broke me and Sam. It's another reason why Sam was so distraught when you met him first, loosing our daughter then me it was too much," she continued. "I swore grams to secrecy and it would have remained so, until things began to happen that would have forced it all to come out. Had Alexander not called you here," she informed them, glancing at the young man with a smile.

"I don't understand," Xander spoke up. "How do I factor into this?" he inquired, as Tara took his hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze, as she began to feel him become nervous.

"In a minute Alexander, I will explain why you are important in all of this," Patricia replied, before moving over to Paige and bending down to look her daughter in the eye. "You were wanted Paige, but circumstances beyond mine and your father's control forced our hand. We ensured you would end up with a loving family and we have watched you grow into wonderful young woman, who we are very proud off," she stated, as gently as she could.

Paige stared into the eyes of her mother for the first time in her life that she could remember and her mother said all the things she had wished and prayed for many times in the past. She glanced at her half sisters who stared back with various states of emotion on their faces, before turning back to her mother and breaking down crying and she was pulled into a loving hug by her mother.

(Ether)

Janus took a moment out of searching for evidence of who may be responsible for the witch going insane, to look in on Alexander and his friends and noted what was going on. He paused as he watched the reunion of mother and daughter as well as sisters with a small smile on his face. It was not often that he was moved by anything, but this reminded him of why he and his brothers and sisters were created in the first place, to ensure the humans were protected to a point.

Across the ether Zeus, Ares and Artemis met up from their search as well, all with frowns on their faces, soon they were joined by Athena and Poseidon and they too looked angered.

"We can't find her anywhere within our boundaries brother," Poseidon informed Zeus. "She has vanished and she has been very careful to hide where she went," he added, rubbing his beard in thought.

"Damn her to Hades," Zeus spat, as he thought 'why did it have to be her' in his mind.

Strangely enough he was not surprised to see Hades himself appear before them, looking bored, but he knew that was a farce. Like the rest of them, his brother was just as worried by what she had done and set in motion. If they could not find and subdue her, then they risked the creator getting involved and the most likely outcome of that was, that they would all be wiped out.

"I could not locate her either. She has clearly learned some new tricks in the past decade," Hades informed them, a scowl appearing on his face.

"What do we do Zeus?" Ares inquired, anticipating something bad happening which might require them to actually have something to do for a change.

"Artemis, go and inform Hercules of this development and tell him to head for Sunnydale," Zeus ordered, as he thought it over for a few minutes. "If it is her, who is responsible for all this mess, then the defenders will need someone who knows how she does things and can aid them," he explained.

"Herc is not going to like this," Ares chuckled. "He's been enjoying the fact, that we have so little control on the world anymore and the fact that it is her, that is the problem, will just make him madder," he added with a shake of his head.

"I know, but what else can we do?" Zeus agreed with a sigh. "Now we must inform the others of our discovery and suspicion," he added, before vanishing along with the others.

(LA airport)

Lara Croft looked around as her plane came in for the landing. She had hired a fast jet to get here fast. The more she had thought about a ring, which could make a vampire almost invincible, the more convinced she had become to get to Sunnydale as fast as possible and then locate it. She would most likely destroy it as well, once she found it. It was to dangerous to leave in any museum, no matter how much money she was offered. She mostly disliked spending money on fast jets, but in this case she saw no other choice.

(Magic Box)

The enlarged group watched as Paige was brought up to date with a few things, including her being half witch, half whitelighter, which had of course shocked her to the core. The explanation of who her sisters were to the magical community even more so, but all in all she was taking it better than most would have, had they been in her position. Finally Paige was beginning to accept what she was being told about her own powers.

The sisters were still wrapping their heads around the fact, that they had another sister. It was all so much to take in and yet they could not discount what their mother had told them. Finally Patricia stepped away from Paige and faced Alexander and his friends.

"Now Alexander, you asked why you are factor in all of this," she stated, to which he nodded.

"At this time the powers or elders as we know them are in charge of a lot of what happens in the war between light and dark, good and evil, however they have begun to overstep their bounds in a lot of people's eyes," she explained. "One of those people was Janus, god of chaos, as you know him. He decided to take advantage of what the witch did to you, but he did not cause it. Someone or something else is behind your friend losing her mind," she went on.

"What do you mean took advantage of it?" Xander asked, getting to his feet not liking this at all.

"He chose to recreate you as his own champion. A champion of chaos, to disrupt the powers plans and change things in what he hopes would be a better situation," Patricia answered.

"Before you complain, Alexander, know this it is the best thing that could have happened in my opinion," she stated in a tone, which told them all that she meant what she was saying.

"Why?" Jenny asked, she finally had confirmation of what she had felt at the hospital, that is was Janus, whose magic had flowed into Xander.

"That is utter rubbish Patty, he has defied destiny," a new voice cut in, and they all turned to see an older woman with black hair appear. "He is a walking abomination, who will destroy everything that is destined to be," she argued.

"Grams?" the sisters asked, wondering what the hell was going on. They did not truly understand why Grams was so against what their mother had said.

"Mother you can trust in destiny all you want, but I will not allow the elders to play with the lives of my daughters," Patricia growled. "You know as well as I, what they had planned for Prue and Paige," she added, almost stalking up to the older woman and poking her in the stomach.

"What do you mean, Mom?" Prue asked, feeling a cold feeling of dread wash over her, making her shiver.

"Had Alexander not called you here Prue, then you would have died a few weeks from now, killed by a demon hitman named Shacks. Paige would have been then revealed to your sisters so the power of three could be reformed," Patricia answered in a dead tone, making everyone shiver. "In the elders eyes Prue, you are uncontrollable and your sisters follow your lead. Hence they wished to remove you, so that they could reassert control over the charmed line and it would have worked as well, had all this not happened," she explained, turning to her daughters, who all looked horrified at this news.

"Alexander becoming the Champion of Chaos has saved your life and destroyed the plans the Powers or Elders if you will, put in place and I could not be happier," Patricia stated. "Paige being here was the act of Zeus and Loki, hoping to build a force which could hopefully derail anymore attempts by the Powers to manipulate you all, as far as I can tell," she added, pulling Prue into a hug as she tried to come to terms with what she had been told.

"Mom how do you know all this?" Piper inquired.

"As I said, a lot of people have been keeping an eye on the Powers, not just the old gods and goddesses. Melinda Warren, our family's beginning, has been one of them," Patricia responded. "She told me all of it and before you ask how she found out, don't ask, I can't tell you what Melinda is," she added.

Xander and the others exchanged unsure looks between themselves, as clearly something much bigger was going on here than even they knew. The names of actual gods were being used, which made them realize that they were probably very real. The information about the Powers or Elders, as they were known was truly horrifying and made them wonder what else they had planned for them all?

"How could you support their plans, Grams?" Piper growled out, as she finally locked onto something in the chaos of everything she had learned.

"Destiny is important Piper and has kept this world spinning for centuries," Penny Halliwell responded, raising her hands to try and calm her granddaughter down. "What Janus has done could destroy everything our family has fought and died for," she tried to explain.

"I don't care, they planned to help murder Prue," Piper shot back, glaring at her grandmother and for the first time feeling real anger for her. "How can that be good?" she demanded to know.

Penny couldn't answer as she looked at her family, even Paige was glaring at her and she sighed: "It isn't good Piper and I think it is a very bad plan, but the powers were placed in charge of our forces for a reason and I," she trailed off, not really having anything she could say that would ease the pain of what they had just learned. "No it is wrong all of it. Patty is right Alexander has saved Prue from a fate she did not deserve and for that I am grateful," she finally said, glancing at the young man, who just nodded shakily.

Cordelia watched and listened and did really not like how all of this was going, one thing was nagging at her though so she decided to speak up. "If everything you say is true Mrs. Halliwell then why did the Powers send me a vision to help Xander?" she inquired.

"They didn't," Patricia answered, causing complete silence to once again descend on the shop.

Additional Disclaimer: The version of Hercules mentioned here, belongs to Renaissance Pictures


	6. Chapter 6

Call of the Wild Chapter 6

(Ether)

The large gathering of gods and goddesses fell into silence after Zeus finished speaking. No matter the origin or Pantheon, they belonged to. They all felt the danger of what Zeus had just told them.

One of them, Hera, had broken the rules set down by the creator and was trying to cause a breach back into the Earth realm, which they were forbidden to do at this point in time. If they did not find her quickly, the creator and her guardians may act instead and the worse case of that was that they would all be terminated to end the threat once and for all.

This was the worst crisis they had faced in a millennium and they were wondering what Hera was thinking. Another question raised by Jupiter was, if Hera was working on her own or with someone else? This had caused even more silence, as they thought it over. If Hera was acting in partnership with someone else, it raised the stakes and made them wonder who it could be?

"So what do we do Lord Zeus?" inquired Hermes, with a worried frown on his face.

"We must find Hera at all costs and stop her and if she is working with others, them as well," Zeus responded angrily. He was still enraged that his wife would be the one to betray and endanger them all.

"We must search the entire Ether and those places we once resided, no matter where it maybe," Odin cut in. "On earth, in the underworld, the ether or elsewhere, we must search and fast, before Hera brings destruction down on us all," he continued.

"But if we search our earthbound places, we may bring the wrath of the creator down on us even faster than before father," Thor protested, his hammer held tightly in his hand, which he wished he could use on Hera right now.

"A risk we must take Thor," Ra countered, before anyone could respond, including Odin himself. "Hera is a dangerous goddess and not one to be taken lightly. I find it hard to believe the creator would destroy us for trying to bring her to justice," he stated as clearly as he could.

Most of the others nodded their heads in agreement with this statement, whilst others still looked very unsure or down right against it, but in the end Odin, Jupiter, Zeus and Ra were the senior gods and if they chose to do this, then it could not be refused.

They watched as the four great gods discussed their options between themselves. Silence descended once more, before they finally turned back to the waiting crowd.

"We have decided the risk is worth it, however to ensure we do not anger the creator too much, only two of us from each Pantheon will search our earth bound realms, at different times of the day," Zeus explained. "The rest of you will search everywhere else, no matter how slim the chance is that Hera is there. Be careful of any traps she may have laid as well," he continued. "We have time but not much and in the mean time it is up to Hercules to help protect Hera's chosen targets," he added.

The gathered gods all nodded, before they began to vanish from the meeting hall. Zeus knew Hercules would not be happy to learn what Hera was attempting to do, but he had faith in his son's ability to once again derail her plans.

Finally noting that he was the only god left in the hall, he quickly vanished as well, intending to get to work. They had time, but not to much, before the creator got involved.

(L.A.)

Hercules rubbed his eyes as Artemis vanished and he slumped into his chair, as he absorbed the information she had imparted. It was his worst nightmares come true. Hera was once again trying to wake havoc in the world and at this point in time, it was even more dangerous.

For long he had enjoyed the time, where the old gods no longer controlled the fate of humankind.

Still he did not truly think the powers and those like them were doing a better job than the old gods had done. In any case he had been given his options and he knew what he would have to do and that was go to Sunnydale, to protect Hera's targets, until she was found and defeated, just like he would have done all those years ago.

Yes it would mean exposing his current persona to them, but considering who they were and what they did. He expected they could handle the truth. He stood and headed for his bedroom, intending to have a shower and change into something appropriated and then head out.

Truth be told, he was actually looking forward to such a challenge, as he had to be so careful these days in helping anyone. It would not do to be seen punching a vampire halfway down an ally or fighting a demon with little trouble he thought.

(Magic Box)

Angel could barely believe the words that had been spoken, because to him they did not make sense. Cordelia got visions from the powers, so that they could help people in need, as part of his path of redemption. She had one just before coming here and he knew she would not lie about the content of a vision, as she took her job seriously. However, according to the ghost of Patricia Halliwell, the vision that had brought them here had not come from the Powers. He felt angry and used and even more frustrated that he had been tricked into coming here, to help someone he despised.

He tried to keep quiet, but he could not. "Then who the hell sent the vision?" he demanded to know, breaking the silence that had fallen over the large group.

Patricia glared a little at the souled vampire for his tone, but noted the others were all looking interested in the answer, especially Cordelia herself and Xander, so she decided it was best to give them the answer.

"Janus sent the vision to Cordelia, so that she could be spared the fate a fallen power has in store for her. I do not know the details, as Melinda would not tell them to me, but from her expression it was not something nice," she informed them. "Janus believes Cordelia has a lot of potential and can be useful in the future and so by sending her back to Alexander, he believed that this fate could be avoided," she continued.

She watched as Alexander helped Cordelia to a chair. She looked quite shaken by the news that some kind of evil had a plan for her. The others also looked worried, whilst Angel continued to look annoyed. She shook her head, as she knew that the souled vampire was under the direct sway of the powers. He might become more of a problem than a help, but then again he may just remember why he was found by Whistler in the first place.

"A fallen power, so you mean it was once a member of the powers and elders?" Piper inquired, not liking the kind of threat this new problem seemed to be to her.

"That is right Piper and the powers and elders are the same group, just different departments if you will, but even with their arrogance and stupidity, they still have some rules they had not crossed so far, but they will in time," Patricia responded. "This fallen power clearly already overstepped its bounds and was cast out. I would caution you to be very careful and do not leave Cordelia on her own, as it is possible the fallen has someone or something working with it and I doubt it will just take this lying down," she warned them all.

"We'll be careful. Is that everything?" Giles responded, very worried by the possible outcome to all of these interconnected problems.

"Yes, except to warn Alexander to be careful, as he has undergone many changes now that he has become a champion. He is stronger, faster and more agile than before. He has all the knowledge and skills of the soldier he was possessed by in his head, ready to use whenever he needs it. His senses have also been upgraded," Patricia informed them all, but especially Alexander.

"His body will also have gone through some changes to be fitter and conditioned for tough situations. His thinking and reactions will also be different now, so don't be to alarmed, if he acts out of character from this point on," she continued with a smile. "There was another change added, but I think I will leave that one for you to discover on your own Alexander. Again I thank you for saving Prue and I know you will continue to look out for her and her sisters," she finished.

Xander just nodded his head, as he tried to digest all of the stuff Patricia had just told him. He sat next to Cordelia, knowing everything would be different from this point onwards. He watched Patricia and Penny say their goodbyes and stating that they would be watching them, before they vanished from the shop. The atmosphere was so tense he thought, as he finally stood back up and headed for the door, needing some air.

He quickly unlocked the bolts and locks and swung the door open, only to find an Indian girl of maybe twenty years standing waiting outside. She gave him a small smile, before walking into the shop. He spun around and watched as she looked around before focusing in on the sisters who were now talking amongst each other.

"Excuse me can we help you?" he finally shook himself and concentrated on the girl and bringing the others attention to the fact, that they had a visitor, as they all had fallen into discussions between themselves and had not paid attention to what was going on in the shop.

"Yes you can Alexander. At least I hope you can," Savita responded, turning to face him. "Your, out of control, friend attacked me at my home today. I managed to escape, but two other witches were not so lucky and have been captured. Whilst they have not fallen under her sway they will be forced to do her bidding," she continued. "Two other witches have willingly joined her and I suspect she will try and subdue any other witch in town she can find," she finished the anger in her voice clear to them all.

"How did you escape then?" Jenny asked, moving over to her.

"I have been learning witchcraft since I was a child and hence my power and control has been greatly increased and so I was able to match her attacks, until she started using the boosts she got from Rack," Savita explained.

"Who is Rack?" Tara spoke up from checking on Cordelia, who still seemed to be coming to terms with what she had been told.

"Rack is a corrupt warlock, who will boost a magic user's power for a price. However his process is very flawed and it always ends in the witch or warlock becoming just as corrupt as Rack is, if not worse," Savita answered, a little surprised the group had never heard of the man, as he had been in Sunnydale for a while.

"This is highly disturbing news on both counts," Wesley stated. "Clearly we must locate and stop Miss Rosenberg before she can enslave anymore witches in the area," he added.

This statement made everyone focus on the main problem at hand. With the arrival of the Halliwell's mother and grandmother and finding out so many disturbing things, they had forgotten about why they had called in the sisters in the first place.

Now, thanks to unknown witch, they were reminded how dangerous Willow had become. The idea she was forming a coven of both willing and unwilling witches was also very troubling, especially for those who truly understood how dangerous magic could be and what Willow could do with it.

"What is your name Miss?" Giles inquired, deciding to get them back on track as fast as possible.

"I am Savita Khan. I already know who most of you are, by reputation at the least," Savita responded. She turned to the sisters in some confusion, as she could sense the overwhelming power coming from them. "However these four I do not know, however they are incredible powerful witches, more so than I've ever felt before," she added.

"Friends of ours, who we've called into help with subduing Willow," Xander responded, finally pulling himself together. "Ok, we need to find Willow and it is clear she will no longer be at Savita's, so where will she head now?"

"We can scry for anymore witches in the local area and we should even be able to track Willow and her followers," Phoebe suggested. "That will at least give us an idea where she may turn up," she added with a smile.

"Agreed, Leo will take us back to get our supplies and we'll return and see what we can find," Prue nodded in agreement with her sister's idea.

"Ok. In the mean time I'll head out again with Buffy, Tara and Giles and see if we can run down this Rack and get some answers from him," Xander put in. "If he is as dangerous as Savita suggests, we should take him out of the picture, whilst we can, before he becomes anymore of a problem than he already is," he suggested.

"We can't kill him Xander. He is human," Buffy protested, instantly horrified by his idea.

"Rack has no conscious Buffy Summers," Savita argued. "He has corrupted many witches and warlocks, not just in Sunnydale, but everywhere else he has been to. He feels no remorse for their fates, which usually ends in death from his powers," she continued.

"How so?" Angel asked, watching Buffy's reaction to this carefully.

"The boosts Rack gives people are addictive. People become nothing more than slaves to him and will do anything for another fix, just like most drug users do," Savita explained. "The longer they are exposed to his boosts the more damage is done to their bodies and mind, until finally they burn out completely which ends in death," she stated, with distaste clearly written on her face.

"That does not give you the right to kill him. He's human and has a soul," Buffy complained. "There must be another way to deal with him, right Giles?" she asked, spinning to face her watcher.

Giles looked contemplative for a few moments, as he knew from his own dark past how dangerous warlocks could be and he believed Savita's view of this Rack, however did that give them the right to kill him, if necessary? He noted some of the group did not look happy with the suggestion put forward by Xander and Savita, maybe there was another way he suddenly thought.

"There is a way Buffy. We will need to subdue him as quickly as possible and we then can perform a power stripping ritual on him, thus removing the danger he represents," he told them, making Buffy smile. "However, if this fails, I must concur with Xander and Savita. Removing Rack permanently will be the best option I'm afraid," wiping the smile from Buffy's face instantly.

"I know how horrible it sounds Buffy, but considering the other factors and what we just learned, we must deal with every threat we face quickly, so we do not become outnumbered," he reasoned as carefully as he could.

"He's right Buffy. Considering the outside forces involved in all this, we cannot afford to be anything but decisive," Angel said, supporting Giles's view.

Buffy did not like this one bit, but there was nothing she could say or do to argue the point. She sighed and hoped they would be able to subdue this Rack and just remove his magic, as she did not want the horror of killing a human being on her head. She still had nightmares of the time she had thought she had killed a human, before discovering Ted had been a robot.

She nodded her head in acceptance before following Xander out of the shop with the others, including Savita, who knew where Rack's place was.

(Sunnydale)

Lara Croft entered the motel she had found and noted that it looked much better, than the last one she had visited, which quite frankly had looked like a hooker's meeting place. How it could still do business was beyond her and she was just pleased there was more than one hotel in the area. It looked quite new to her eye and she guessed it had only been built in the last year or so. She quickly booked a room, finding the price quite worth it and then went and settled in.

She had a nice long hot shower, which removed some of the jet leg she felt from the long flight. She dressed in some normal clothes and called room service for some food to be brought up. She had decided to relax today and then start her search for the gem tomorrow, when she was fully recovered and awake. She quickly answered the door and let the waiter enter with her meal, before she paid a generous tip. She settled down and ate her meal, wondering just what she would find in her search for the gem.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

(Sunnydale)

Xander kept a close eye out as he, Buffy, Tara and Giles walked down the street with Savita. She had joined them after reminding them that she knew where Rack did business. Whilst he was keeping an eye out for any possible threats, he was going through everything they had learned from Patricia Halliwell, so much seemed to be going on.

A lot more than ever before he thought and that made it that much more dangerous for them all, in fact with so many people now involved the risks were far greater. Then there was the sad fact Willow was one of the threats they faced, never in his life did he believe he would ever be on opposite sides from his red headed friend. As they neared the place where Rack did his business Savita began to slow down and Xander took careful note of her face, he saw pain in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" he inquired.

"Rack has increased the wards around his business place. I cannot go any further," Savita responded, as she reached out to lean on the wall.

"I feel it too," Tara spoke up, looking a bit ill. "These wards are unlike anything I've felt before Xander. I think something has altered them to keep Rack out of our hands," she explained.

"But we are unaffected," Buffy pointed out, glancing between the two witches until she noted Giles was also looking slightly off.

"Clearly these wards are set to attack people of different power levels in different ways Buffy," Giles informed them. "If you and Xander continue I believe you too would fall to these wards," he warned.

Buffy got a stubborn look on her face and went to move forward, but was stopped by Xander, whose arm had shot out faster than she could see to hold her in place. She glanced at her friend and noted him shake his head. She frowned before nodding in acceptance.

"Think before you act Buffy. These wards could be set to kill us the deeper we go," Xander pointed out. "No, we have to go back and learn what these wards do, then we come back and deal with Rack," he suggested.

"I think he's right Buffy. We need to know more about these wards before we can act," Giles agreed, stepping backwards out of the influence of the wards and faced his Slayer.

"Ok Giles, we go back," Buffy relented. "Are you two okay?" she asked Tara and Savita.

"No, the pain is getting worse," Savita gasped.

Xander frowned and quickly grabbed Savita and began to move away from the area. Giles quickly caught on and did the same with Tara who did not protest. Buffy followed and was concerned what the wards had done to her friend and their new ally. She was grateful that Xander had stopped her from going any further.

No one took any notice of Xander and Giles carrying Savita and Tara for a block. Finally Savita reported the pain was gone and Xander set her back down. She swayed for a few seconds before she regained her balance. She shot Xander a thankful look as Tara was set back down as well.

"Ok, so we now know that Rack is protected and must be involved in all of this," Xander said. "Question is, what role does he play and is he fully allied with Willow?" he mused.

"I am sure we will find out," Tara replied. "If money is what he does all this for, then clearly if Willow pays him enough he will do whatever she wants," she speculated.

"Agreed, then again if he is under the same influence as Rosenberg is, then he may be doing what he is at their behest," Savita pointed out to them. "Finding out which is true may help us bring him down," she stated, as they began walking back to the Magic Box.

"And how do we do that Miss Khan?" Giles inquired, impressed by her sound logic.

"Call me Savita please, Miss Khan makes me think of my mother," Savita responded with a smile. "As to how we find out, I am not sure yet, but I am sure we will work it out," she continued.

"I hope so, this situation has bad news written all over it," Buffy admitted. "And the longer it goes the worse the fallout will be, especially for Willow," she added. "Do you think we can save her Giles?" she asked, not liking the fact she had been wrong about her friend.

"I believe so Buffy, but it will not be an easy road I'm afraid," Giles answered.

Buffy and Xander shared dark looks at this, before they went silently thinking over how to bring their friend back.

In the motel Lara had finished her meal and was busy going through the notes and myths on the Gem of Amara she had located before coming to Sunnydale. Granted that was not a lot, but still she found the whole thing quite interesting and very disturbing. If a vampire ever located this gem they would become an even greater threat then they were normally.

Another thing troubled her about all of this and that was Bryce had not been able to find any information on Professor William Price, the man who had hired her for this job. This unsettled her and made her think someone was trying to play her. She didn't like that at all. The information on the town she was now in was even more disturbing to her. The death rate was over the limit of most cities and that chilled her. Something else was going on in this town. Bryce and Hillary were looking into the town history more closely for her. Yawning she decided to call it quits for today and to get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow she would begin her search for the Gem, as well as to some answers on this town.

(Motorway)

Hercules smiled as he raced through the waning daylight on his motorbike. He had decided to head out now and reach Sunnydale as soon as possible. He did not dare to give Hera too much time to set up whatever it was she was up too. Tomorrow he would track down the Hellmouth defenders and then work out a plan with their help.

Night was falling fast, but he had little to fear from vampires and demons, but he still had to be careful just in case Hera had set some traps along the way. Knowing his old enemy as well as he did, he was sure she had anticipated his involvement and planned ahead. He hoped his father and the other old gods found and dealt with her quickly.

(Rosenberg House)

Willow smiled as she relaxed on her bed next to Amy and Sara. She was content that soon her coven would be complete and then they would be ready to deal with Xander and the others, this would include Buffy if she refused to join her. She had put Nikki and Gina downstairs and warned them that trying to escape would be met with harsh punishment. Granted they were in no real shape to try after their punishment for helping Khan escape, but a warning couldn't hurt.

She growled as she replayed that fight in her head and was still angered that she had not been able to defeat the Indian witch as easily as she had the others. She guessed she would need to visit Rack again and get another power boost before they continued to hunt down their fellow witches and try to convince them to join them one way or another.

Downstairs Gina and Nikki huddled together and cried, not only for themselves and the pain they were in, but also for their fellow witches who would soon follow them into damnation. They had hoped Savita Khan would return and help them escape this nightmare and then they had realized she would have to find help first. Once they realized this, they knew they would have to wait and endure Rosenberg and her allies' torments for as long as it took, until they were freed.

(Magic Box)

Jenny looked up as the door to the shop opened and Xander and his group returned. She frowned having not expected them back so soon. Clearly something had either stopped them or misdirected them, that was not good and the day was almost over. It had already been decided that with everything that had gone on and the revelations that had been revealed that they needed a break. So once they had plotted the locations of the remaining witches in town they were all going to turn in.

"What happened?" Cordelia inquired, voicing Jenny's own question. "How come you are back so soon?" she added.

"Rack has new wards in place, which were causing those of us who can use magic great pain and discomfort. Most likely had Buffy or I gone on we would also had fallen prey to them," Xander answered, as he sat down and ran a hand through his hair. "We believe they could be set to kill, so we need to find out more about them and how to take them down, before we can deal with Rack," he explained.

"Damn," Prue growled. "So he will remain a threat," she stated.

"I'm afraid so Prue, at least for now," Xander agreed. "But I will not risk any of us trying to get through those wards without some protection or by breaking them first," he told them all.

"Any signs of Willow?" Angel inquired from the back.

"No nothing, clearly she will not be easy to find," Tara responded, leaning against Xander feeling tired.

"Nor would I expect her to be easily to be found," Wesley shot back. "She knows us all very well and she knows what we can do and what we will do to try and find her," he reminded them.

"True, however she does not know about my cousins and she knows little about Savita, except that she can match her power," Tara shot back. "That at least gives us an edge and we have to remember that she is not thinking clearly," she pointed out. "Her mind has been corrupted by magic and whatever it is that is manipulating her and so she is not at her best," she stated.

"You are correct Tara, however that does not make her any less of a threat," Angel said grimly and with a shake of his head. "In fact it makes her that much more of a threat," he added in a dark tone.

"I think we can all agree with that," Buffy spoke up from her chair. "This is my fault, for ignoring all the signs," she growled. "I let my friendship with her blind me to the danger," she added.

It took all of Jenny and Tara's ability not to rub this in as Buffy finally admitted her mistake and so they just smiled inward to themselves. Xander just nodded his head in agreement. He took no joy out of being proven right. He would have been more than happy to have been proven wrong and for Buffy to ram it in his face, but fate had decided otherwise.

"No Buffy, this is my fault," Giles argued. "I know more about magic and its pitfalls than you do. I knew something was wrong as Jenny stated, but to keep you and Willow happy I ignored it, to my shame I must say," he admitted while he removed his glasses and polished them. "I should have done something, anything to stop her fall, but sadly I did not and we are now paying the price, especially Willow," he continued.

With this admission Jenny felt like jumping up and dancing, but she did not. This was a good thing that both had admitted their faults, but in the end it made little difference to the danger they were all in.

"Would it have made any difference in the long run thought?" Cordelia inquired. "I mean if she was under the influence of something bigger, would it have made a difference if you had seen the problem and done something?" she asked them.

Everyone exchanged looks and then began to contemplate the answer, as Prue and her sisters continued to track down and plot the remaining witches, even whilst they thought the question over as well.

"Probably not," Xander finally admitted. "It might have delayed her fall, but it would not have stopped it," he continued.

"The situation is now upon us and we have to do what we can to stop her and whoever it is who is pulling her strings," Buffy agreed.

"I think we've found all the remaining witches in town and there are quite a few still left," Phoebe spoke up, as she watched Piper plot the last one on the map.

"I suggest we split up tomorrow when we start up again," Prue said. "That way we can cover more ground," she added, when she noted Xander and Giles frown.

"Considering that she will have allies as well, I would suggest no more than four to a group," Angel advised. "And I cannot help until it gets dark, so I will head out and look for any signs of Willow or whoever it is behind her," he told them as he headed for the door.

"Just be careful Deadboy. I don't want to have to come and hover you up and then put you back together," Xander called out, as he opened the door, causing most of the group to burst into laughter whilst Angel groaned and quickly departed. Buffy just rolled her eyes.

"I guess that is it for now," Wesley said. "I will call the hotel and see about getting some rooms for us, Cordelia," he informed her before heading for the phone.

"Not necessary. Cordelia can stay with me and you can stay with Giles," Buffy said. "Mom will love to see you," she added, when Cordelia looked at her in surprise.

"I guess that solves that," Xander said with a chuckle. "What about you and your sisters, Prue?" he asked while turning to the eldest Halliwell.

"We are going home with Leo. We need to have a long talk between ourselves as well as begin to teach Paige about her powers," Prue responded with a smile.

"Which should be fun," Paige said with a smile, as she moved over to join her sisters.

Leo nodded at them all and then orbed them all out.

Xander and the others just watched before they all began to break up and go their separate ways for the night. Giles remained behind with Wesley, so that they could let Angel know where they would all be. Of course Angel would not be welcome at Giles home and so would have to go and sleep at his old mansion.

(Ether)

The powers shook their collective heads as they watched the events continue to shatter the plans they had put into place. They were angered and annoyed beyond reason. They had to remove 'The one who see's' before he destroyed anymore of their plans, granted it was a risk, but they believed themselves untouchable. However before they could do anything, four very angry gods appeared before them. Lightening cracked across the ether and they stepped away from the newly arrived visitors.

"You have been warned before," Zeus spat as he stared at the so called 'Powers that Be'. "Leave him and his friends alone or face our wrath," he ordered.

"He must be destroyed or all of creation is at stake," the head Power argued.

"Wrong, he is not a threat to creation, but to your plans," Odin shot back. "That is why you want to kill him," he pointed out.

"You are fools and incompetents and always have been," Ra picked up the argument. "Since you were created you have had a deluded belief that you are better and superior to everything else which was created to maintain the balance and safeguard creation," he snarled. "You have overstepped many of the rules you were given and now you plan to overstep one of the most important ones," he continued. "I make no threat, only a promise. If you do what you plan, we will rage war on you and wipe your kind out," he stated and his eyes taking on a golden shine.

"You can't do that. The creator would stop you or destroy you for your actions," one of the Powers argued.

"Watch us," Jupiter responded with a glare. "I think the creator would understand our actions far more than it would yours," he told them confidently.

"We have existed since the dawn of time itself. Some of the first beings created to carry out the great task of maintaining the balance and protect creation," Zeus spoke up again. "We have followed the rules laid down to us no matter what and when it was our time to step aside, we did so," he reminded them, although he left out the fact that Hera had now broken that rule. These fools did not need to know that. "You however have never followed those rules and in the end I think you would suffer far more than we once the creator gets involved," he stated.

The powers went silent as they took in the angry kings of the old gods before them and knew they were on thin ice. Clearly they would carry out their promise if they attempt to remove 'The one who see's'. They had been backed into a corner and left with nowhere to go, unless they could think of some other way to stop what was happening.

"I see that we have gotten our point across," Odin said, as he noted the looks on the Powers' faces. "Good. I suggest that you will remember our visit, because we will be watching you closely and if you do anything to them we will be back with our families and we will carry out our promise," he warned.

"Remember your place in the grand scheme of things," Ra told them as they backed away. "Do not be anymore foolish than you already have been," he stated.

"And make sure that you keep your lackeys and dogs under control as well," Jupiter told them with one last glare. "For we will hold you accountable for whatever they do," he added.

At this the four gods faded from view, leaving a very relieved group of Powers behind, however an echo of thunder and lightning could still be heard and they knew they were indeed watched.

(Sunnydale)

Hercules smiled as he finally reached the town after he pushed his bike to the limits of its speed. Strangely enough he had not seen any cops watching the outskirts of town. Not that it mattered really he thought. He headed for the decent hotel his contacts had told him about and was eager for a good night's sleep. Tomorrow he would track down the Hellmouth defenders and then get back to his true calling of stopping Hera, no matter what it was she was truly up to.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

(Magic Box)

The group sat around the table the next day discussing how to go about locating the leftover witches in town Willow had not yet got around to corrupting. They knew splitting up was dangerous, but it would speed up safe guarding as many of the witches as they could. Xander was hopeful they could ensure Willow would not end up converting too many more witches, it was bad enough that she had done it to four already. Two willingly and two very unwilling, he hated that she had become so cruel. 'Could I have stopped it?' he asked within the privacy of his own thoughts.

"Xander, are you okay?" Cordelia asked from beside him, having noted his distraction as the others discussed a few other matters. Turning to his former girlfriend he gave her a small sad smile before he replied, "I was just wondering if I could have stopped Willow from becoming what she is. If maybe I had convinced her not to do that damn soul curse she could have been spared this madness," he admitted.

Cordelia was not surprised to hear this from Xander, but to be honest she had always believed Willow had a nastier side to her, even back before Buffy had come into their lives. She had seen small signs of it now and again during some of their arguments, coldness in her eyes or the arrogant undertones in her face. Of course Xander and Jesse never saw it, either blinded by their friendship with the redhead or Willow had hidden it very well behind her friendly and weak appearance. Once she had a taste of power, well it was clear she would never give it up.

"Somehow I think she was always heading for this Xander, I know she was your friend and you've been through a lot with her, but I think deep down she always had this kind of potential," she finally told him with a sad smile of her own, knowing he would not like it.

Xander frowned at her response and wanted to immediately deny it and protest, but something deep inside him made him pause and consider what Cordelia had said. Was it possible he had missed the signs that Willow had such a dark side, even as far back as their childhood? If it was true then he guessed he had never truly known her and neither had Jesse. Before he could reply the door to the shop opened, causing them all to spin around to look who had come in, each of them ready for a fight just in case it turned out to be Willow and her Coven. The person who walked into the shop shocked them all as they had seen him on TV. It was Kevin Sorbo the actor.

"Hi, nice to meet you all," Hercules said in greeting as he looked around and took in the rather large group of people inside. "I need to talk to you all on a rather important matter," he told them on alert just in case Hera chose this moment to attack.

Xander and the others exchanged confused or surprised looks at this. They had no idea why such a famous person would want to talk to them. Giles cleared his throat a little as he stood up to greet the man. His mind was racing a mile a minute trying to think of why he had come here. "How may we help you Mr. Sorbo?" he said, not exactly sure how to speak to him.

"My name is Hercules, Mr. Giles," Hercules told him with a smile at the flabbergasted looks on their faces at this. "The myths and legends on my show are basically true and did happen. Kevin Sorbo is my current disguise at this point in time," he explained.

"Holy shit," Buffy couldn't help but gasp. "What's next?" she couldn't help but ask as she considered all they had learned in the last day or two. "Does this happen to have anything to do with our current situation?" Xander inquired as his mind locked onto what could possible bring this man here.

"Actually it has everything to do with it Alexander," Hercules replied as he nodded his head and moved to take a seat. "I know what you've been told so far, so I don't have to give you the whole story. What I'm here for is twofold, one is I know who is behind your witch friend going insane here and now," he began to explain, as Giles sat back down again.

"Who?" Buffy demanded to know cutting him off. She wanted to know just who was behind Willow going off the deep end ignoring the fact that she had been told it would have happened somewhere in the future.

"It was Hera," Hercules answered with a grim look on his face. "She clearly has grown tired of being nothing more than a watchdog in this day and age, whether she is working with anyone else we can't say yet, but it is a good bet," he told them.

"You mean the actual Hera, goddess of women and marriage?" Tara asked, surprised and very worried by this development.

"That is exactly who I mean and whatever you may have seen on my show believe me she is ten times more deadly in person," Hercules warned them, his expression deadly serious. "I barely survived some of her traps, some of it was pure luck, but she is not to be underestimated," he advised them.

"Why is she doing this now?" Cordelia asked. "And what does she intend to get out of it?" she added, having been thinking deeply since Hercules had told them the name of the one responsible for this situation with Willow.

"We don't know what she intends to get out of it, at least not yet," Hercules replied rubbing his chin in thought. "As I said before we believe she has grown tired of being in the background doing nothing more than watching the human race. The old gods and goddesses are not allowed to interfere with humans in this day and age," he informed them.

"Who is we?" Prue couldn't help but ask having heard the term twice during his answer.

"The old gods and goddess like Hera. They had their time in charge of the world and the balance and then retreated to new posts as the Powers that Be and the Elders took charge," Hercules responded. "However they have been keeping a very close eye on them over the years," he went on. "Now with Hera going rogue things are approaching a pressure point which could unleash hell onto this world as in the old days," he stated.

"How in the hell do we even try and fight a goddess?" Phoebe asked, feeling as if she was falling as she considered such a possibility.

"It is possible" Hercules responded with a small chuckle, as he recalled other people asking a similar question of him back during the good old days. "It is not easy and a dangerous thing to attempt, unless you are armed for such a conflict, however luckily we do not have to fight Hera, at least not yet," he continued. "The other gods and goddess's are searching for her as we speak. She has hidden herself well and thus I doubt she will attempt a direct attack, as that would reveal herself to them," he stated.

"That is not a guarantee though is it?" Savita cut in. "Granted it makes sense she would stay hidden, but if she saw an opportunity to take some of us out she would take it," she concluded with a frown.

"Savita is correct," Jenny agreed. "We can't go on thinking she will not show up if we give her a shot at us," she added, to which most of the others agreed.

"You are probably more right than you know," Hercules agreed as he remembered his past fights with Hera. "Still I think we should not concentrate too much on her for now. We have other things to be doing and my mission here is to protect you just in case Hera does get more involved or tries a direct attack, which is why I have revealed myself to you," he informed them. "I trust I can count on you not to expose me?" he inquired.

"Of course," Xander answered. "Ok, I think now we know all this, we should get back to the problem at hand," he suggested. "We have ten witches still in town and vulnerable to been corrupted by Willow and her friends so we have to split up and find them," he reminded them. "Considering we are going up against strong witches I suggest each group has a magical user on hand," he told them.

"That means splitting us up Alex," Prue pointed out not exactly liking the idea as it would lessen their effectiveness of her and her sisters. "I know Prue, I'd rather keep the charmed ones together, but splitting you up for this sounds like a better idea for now, as quite a few of us can't do magic," Xander responded.

"I have to agree Prue," Leo interrupted. "Splitting up might lower your effectiveness, but it will allow you to cover more ground as well as protect the others who do not do magic," he pointed out. "Even alone you are more powerful than any other witch alive. Rosenberg is powerful more so with her boosts from this warlock Rack you told us about, but she is still nowhere in your league," he stated.

"For now you mean?" Piper shot back. "The more boosts she gets the more dangerous she becomes," she argued. "In time she'll grow to a point she can match even Prue," she stated seriously.

"Whilst what you say is true Piper," Tara responded with a worried look of her own, "the more boosts she gets the more unstable she will become and the more mistakes she will make," she said, wondering how long it would take before the boosts Willow got from Rack began to kill her.

"Agreed, which is why we need to move fast if we want any chance to save her from herself," Buffy cut in. "Now let's split up and go," she demanded. "The quicker we do this the quicker we can bring her to heal and work on saving her," she argued.

(Ether)

Janus watched as the group split up to begin their search for the other witches not yet subverted by their former friend, this would be a dangerous time for them if they were caught off guard. Rosenberg was more dangerous than they knew, her power was far more warped and twisted than they expected thanks to Hera. The chaos spreading from these events were growing, but what Hera was doing was more than spreading chaos and had to be stopped.

"Any luck?" Thor asked from behind him causing him to turn around. "Not yet, she has been very careful in ensuring she isn't seen," Janus responded. "Still I think Alexander and his group are correct, if she sees a chance to kill them, she will," he added. "We have to be ready to react if she does move against them," he concluded seriously.

"Agreed, I will discuss this with my father and see about putting together a fast response team," Thor agreed. "If she strikes, it will be quick and without mercy," he stated before vanishing.

Janus knew Thor was not kidding about how merciless Hera's attack would be; even Hercules would be hard pressed to contain her and ensure no one got hurt. Turning back to finding Hera's hiding ground he decided to check out a few other leads. He had an inkling on just who might be helping Hera with her plans.

(Sunnydale)

Willow smirked as she watched Amy and Sarah punish Marie. The middle sized witch with black hair and beautiful blue eyes screamed as the magic blasted across her body. Nikki and Gina huddled in the corner unable to do anything but watch. Willow shook her head annoyed that they refuse to truly aid her yet. She decided the next time she would force them to aid in enslaving the next witch on the list and they refused her command she would make them suffer.

"Please stop" Marie pleaded as the attack stopped. "I've done nothing to you," she added as tears ran down her face from the pain.

"If you want it to stop Marie, all you have to do is join us," Willow informed her with a cruel smile. "Become part of our coven and the pain will be replaced with pleasure and power," she added, kneeling so she was eye to eye with the crying girl. "What do you say?" she asked.

Marie stared into the cold eyes of the leader of the group assaulting her and knew if she refused she would suffer, however she refused to give in just yet. Ever since she had learned magic was real and she could do it, she had always ensured she kept within the rules so she did not end hurting herself. Joining the red head would bring nothing but pain to her. She would hold out as long as she could.

"No," she spat, even as she shivered at the look that the red head exchanged with the two blonds. "Then you will suffer," Willow assured her as she lashed out with her own magic, joined a second later by Sara and Amy.

Marie let out another scream. She felt as if her entire body was on fire. The magic was dark and twisted and made her whole body shiver and shake as if she had no control over it. Gina and Nikki cried as they watched their fellow witch try and hold out just as they had, but they knew in the end she was destined to give in. They wondered where Savita Khan was and why she had not returned to help them yet. Hopefully their salvation was close at hand. Another gut wrenching scream from Marie as she collapsed to the floor from where she had been kneeling made it clear the end was close. Willow stalked up to her and grabbed her by the hair and yanked the girls head back and forced a kiss on the girl.

"You belong to us understand?" Willow demanded, as she glared at the formerly defiant girl who continued to cry as she realised she was done for. She could not hold out anymore, her body felt like it would fall apart if she underwent another torture session.

"Yes I understand," Marie responded, feeling nothing but cold dread and a wave of shame at not being able to hold on anymore and escape.

Willow smiled, getting off on the control she now had on Marie just as she had on the others in her coven. She forced another kiss on the girl before releasing her to collapse on the ground where she curled up and cried. She walked over to Amy and Sara and exchanged a triumphant smile and a deep probing kiss. Since her love making with Amy, Willow had learned she preferred a woman over a man.

Amy had turned out to be quite the enthusiastic lover after their first session. Sara was already into girls and needed no encouragement. The others so far had resisted their advancements, but Willow was certain she could break down their resistance in time. Another smirk graced her features as she glanced at where Nikki and Gina tried to comfort Marie. Such weakness did nothing but anger her. It reminded her of how she used to be before her change. She was so meek during her childhood with only the occasional show of force and she had allowed herself to be bullied, well no longer she vowed. She would break Buffy and the others beneath her boot heal and then she would ensure no one threatened her power. Sharing another kiss with Amy she decided it was time to move on.

"Who's next on the list?" she asked Sara. "A newbie witch by the name of Isobel Williams, 19 years old and goes to the same college as you do," Sara answered. "She's only been doing magic for the last half of the year," she added.

"She should prove an easy convert then," Amy said confidently. "I just hope she proves more my taste than these weaklings," she said with a look of distaste on her face as she looked to where Gina, Nikki and Marie huddled together.

"Ah ah Amy, don't get over confident," Willow cautioned her. "You'll be surprised by what some people, even if they are new to something, can pull off," she stated. "And after what that bitch Khan managed, I won't be caught off guard again," she hissed. She hoped she got another shot at the Indian witch at some point in time, she did not like being shown up.

(Ether)

Hera smirked from next to her partner in crime Jasmine, as the full force of the old gods and goddess's tried to find her, but they would fail. With a little help from Jasmine and another powerful ally they were quite safe unless they actually showed themselves. Of course the downside of this was she had to listen to Jasmine rant about how Janus's little champion had disrupted her plans for the seer. She wanted the fallen power to shut up and just focus on the plan at hand. The seven foot armored demon named Skip stood behind them just watching and waiting for orders.

(Sunnydale)

Lara's hand went straight for her pistols, which were comfortably strapped to her waist like always, when she heard what could only be a fight. Looking back to where she had been digging she decided she needed a break and felt that checking out what was going on would be just what she needed. Heading up from the crypt she had been in she noted exactly what was going on. A red head along with two blonds were exchanging what could only be magic with a brunette man who was in cover. The two women with him were also using magic and so had to be witches as well. She also noted three huddled forms behind the red head and her friends. She frowned and was wondering just who the good guys and who the bad guys were.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

(Sunnydale)

Xander walked side by side with Cordelia and Tara flanking him and Prue and Hercules bringing up the rear. The group had split up into three units with a Charmed One in each. He doubted they would actually find Willow at this point in time. With an actual Goddess backing her up he doubted the red head would be easy to find. Hercules had decided to join his group as he was the primary target for Willow, a fact that still troubled him.

"You okay Xander?" Cordelia inquired as she noted his troubled gaze.

"I suppose," he responded as he glanced at her. "It's just hard to think of Willow as the enemy. Having been friends with since we were kids makes it so hard to fathom how it has come to this," he said, trying to explain his thought process.

"Don't think of her as the enemy Xander," Hercules suggested causing all three of his companions to turn and look at him. "See her for what she is, a victim of Hera and whoever it is who is helping her," he told them calmly.

Cordelia frowned a little at that as she still had a lot of hatred for the red head, but she supposed in this case what had happened had not all been Willow's fault. That did not however stop her for wanting to get some revenge on Willow for what she had done to Xander, and if she was honest with herself for helping to destroy her relationship with Xander way back then. Tara just nodded her head in agreement with Hercules's view as did Prue. Xander remained conflicted though as he couldn't help but wonder how much was left of the Willow he knew after Hera had made her insane.

"Just how bad will it become if Hera begins to act openly?" Prue inquired.

"You don't want to know," Hercules answered as he ran a hand through his hair. He doubted it would do any good to tell them just how bad an enemy Hera could be. They needed to be focused and they needed to have hope, they would win. Hera was his problem and that was why he was here. "Don't worry too much about her. I doubt she will show herself unless we capture your friend and manage to save her from herself," he told them.

"How can you be so sure?" Cordelia asked, still trying to deal with the fact an actually goddess was involved in all this and that she was standing beside a real life demigod. It seemed the more she saw of the world; the more it warped and changed from what she had thought it was.

"I know Hera and if she does show herself the other gods will detect her and show up to capture her," Hercules responded with a confident smile. "And they are pissed by her actions. Getting into a fight with them is not going to be high on Hera's list of things to do," he added.

"Let's hope your right because a battle between gods is not something I think this world would survive," Xander spoke up as he finally broke through his dark thoughts.

+COTW+

(Rosenberg House)

Willow let out an angered growl as Amy smeared some cream over the wound she had taken from an unknown's witch's powers. Whoever the bitch had been had been powerful, more powerful than she had seen ever and that included that Savita Khan bitch who had escaped her. She had noted the Indian Witch had been with the group who had attacked her group, but she was the only person she had recognized. So the question she had was who had been the other two people? Friends of the Indian witch or newcomers?

"Are you okay Willow?" Amy asked.

"I'm fine Amy," Willow replied, although her anger clearly came through in her tone. "I'm just annoyed the Indian Witch escaped me again. She is becoming as troublesome as Xander is," she spat.

"We'll get them, it will just take time," Sara told them both confidently, gaining their attention. "All we need is a few more witches like us and no more waste of spaces like the other three we've found so far," she pointed out.

"Agreed," Amy said with a nod of her head as she bandaged Willow's arm before getting up and sitting on the sofa beside her once she had finished.

Willow couldn't argue with Sara's point of view and she swore once they had rested they would go back out and get some more firepower. She ignored the cowering forms of Nikki, Gina and Marie who only watched and tried to stay out of her way.

+COTW+

(Sunnydale)

Lara headed back to her hotel still contemplating the fight she had witnessed in the graveyard she had been in. It had been intense, that was for sure, but she had decided to stay out of it. She didn't know who the good guys were and who the bad guys were, so until she had some more information she would keep a low profile unless she got caught up in another fight between these two forces. She decided she would call Bryce when she got back and see what he could find out about Sunnydale and its residents.

'Something I should have done before I got here,' she thought inwardly.

She had a feeling that this adventure wasn't going to be an easy one. If the gem was real then maybe there were actual vampires after it. In fact she would be shocked if they were not looking for such a useful item, as she neared her hotel she wondered just what Bryce would find.

+COF+

(Graveyard)

Leo winced as he healed Piper's wounds, which had almost cut into her arteries. The red head was clearly far more gone than they had assumed. More to the point the boosts she was getting from this Rack was far more dangerous than they had believed, behind him Savita watched as the wounds healed thanks to the Whitelighter's gifts. It seemed from what she had witnessed that the red head had only managed to gain two real allies. The other three witches had spent the fight cowering in fear and had clearly not bent to her will. That was at least something she concluded. If all the witches she had found so far had been like her their fight would have been that much harder.

"There that should do it Piper," Leo said as he finished healing her. "We were lucky. She would have killed you had she managed to actually hit your arteries," he pointed out with a troubled look in his eyes.

"I wasn't faster enough in getting to cover," Piper growled out as she flexed her shoulder and arm and was relieved to find it caused her no more pain. "I'm going to skin that red head if I catch her," she added.

"Easy Piper," Leo cautioned her. "We are not at the stage yet where we can't save her from herself, remember that," he told her as gently as he could, as he knew she was pissed. "Although how we do that is beyond me. A god's power is even beyond the power of three," he said with a sigh while running a hand through his hair.

"There has to be a way Leo," Piper shot back. "From all I know about the ancient myths of the Greek gods they can be beaten or at least stopped for a time," she pointed out.

"True, but usually it was the Demigods who did that sort of thing, not normal mortals," Leo countered with a shrug of his shoulders.

"We are not normal mortals," Savita said, breaking into their discussion and reminding the two she was there as well. "We have a Demigod, multiple witches, a champion of chaos, two watchers, a Whitelighter, a souled vampire and a seer," she pointed out with a smile. "I think if anyone is going to be able to stop Hera, it is our group if we are lucky," she stated with as much belief as she could muster.

"Let us hope so," Leo responded as he was a bit more apprehensive than the young witch at their chances. "I suggest we head back to the shop and see how the others have done," he finally suggested after a brief silence had descended over them.

Piper and Savita both nodded in agreement and turned to head back to the Magic Box, both inwardly thinking that each confrontation with the red headed witch would only get worse.

+COF+

(Magic Box)

Giles poured his small group a cup of tea as they waited for the others to return. They had managed to track down three of the witches who were living in Sunnydale and put them on alert to the danger that might find them. Out of the three witches they had visited only one had taken their warning seriously. One of them was completely offensive in her attitude. It was more than likely he surmised that she might actually join Willow of her own free will. Buffy sat next to Angel with Wesley and Jenny in silence, none of them seemed to be able to say much to one another right now. Phoebe, Tara and Paige were off in the corner talking quietly. 'Probably still getting to know one another,' he thought.

"This is not going to be finished easily, is it Giles?" Buffy finally asked as he sat back down after he had handed out the cup of teas he had just made.

Giles let out a sigh before he removed his glasses and began to polish them; there was no easy answer for his charge. She had seen so much, done so much and yet it was still not finished and until she met her final end it would probably never end for her. That was the cruel curse of being called as the Slayer. Your fight was never over until you finally met the beast that would end you. It would have been the Master three years ago as was foretold had it not been for Xander. He could see why Janus had made the young man his champion. He had saved Jenny from certain death as well. It seemed the young man had a knack for making things happen that should not have happened.

"Giles?" Buffy's voice broke through his thoughts and made him realize he had gotten lost in thoughts that had no bearing on what she had asked him.

"No Buffy, I'm afraid this will not be over easily, but then when have any of our fights been so easily dealt with?" he finally responded as he put his glasses back on.

"Can we really save Willow?" Buffy asked a few seconds later. "I mean if a god has been messing with her head, is it possible for us to bring her back?" she added, amending her question.

"I really don't have an answer to that Buffy," Giles answered regretfully as he noted his answer did nothing to make Buffy feel any better. "Going up against an actual god from things I believed to be nothing more than myths is out of my league," he told her. "I have no idea just what kind of powers the old gods truly have. How strong they are and how far they can make their enchantments and curses go," he continued.

"So we might be screwed no matter how you look at it," Angel spoke up, his tone still showing he was bitter at been tricked into coming here to help someone he still didn't like.

"We aren't screwed dead boy until we are dead," Xander's voice answered him, making them all turn to see him enter with the rest of his team. "Try and keep a positive outlook, we've faced things we've had no right to survive before," he reminded him.

Angel sent him a sour look as Cordelia nodded her head in agreement. Jenny and Tara moved to join him as he sat down at the counter. He didn't like how close Cordelia was growing to her former boyfriend no matter that according to that spirit who had visited had said it saved her life coming back here.

"While you have a point Xander," Giles quickly responded before Angel, as he didn't want to see another argument between the two. "Even the mayor when he ascended could not hope to match a god, only a 1st circle demon could and even that is an assumption on my part," he informed them.

"I'll keep that in mind Giles," Xander replied after a few moments of thinking it over. "We put two more of the witches in Sunnydale on alert, thankfully they both seemed level headed and not the kind of people to go insane at a moment's notice," he told them with a relieved look.

"That's a relief to hear," Jenny said in response. "We found three others, but two of them seemed a little hostile," she added.

"Will they join Willow?" Cordelia inquired as she couldn't help but lean into Xander.

More and more she found herself wanting to get closer to her ex-lover, she couldn't explain why her feelings for him had suddenly come back so strong. But right now she didn't want to fight them, she felt safe around him. Ignoring Angel's scowl at her actions was easy, she knew him and Xander would never get on, but if she decided to try and rebuilt her relationship with Xander then he would just have to get used to it.

+COF+

(Ether)

Janus laughed his head off as Cordelia Chase began to give into her newly awakened feelings for his chosen champion, he had a nasty feeling Jasmine the fallen power was helping Hera in her plans. He knew her goals as she had made no secret of them in the past; it was why she had been cast out of the powers all those years ago. That Cordelia had been her chosen vessel was something he intended to ensure never happened, hence sending her back to her former lover where the tweaks he had made to the hyena would once more awaken her love for Xander. Once they both gave into their love, Jasmine's hopes of using Cordelia would be destroyed.

"I see your champion continues to amuse you," Loki said from behind him with a smirk.

"But of course he does, it is why I chose him as my champion," Janus responded. "Although his natural talent of bending destiny to his will was a factor to it as well," he added thoughtfully.

"Why send the seer back to Sunnydale?" Loki inquired seriously.

"I believe Jasmine is the one helping Hera and we all know the dreams she has," Janus answered just as seriously. "I intend to close of that particular path as soon as possible, the seer is almost ready to give into her love for my champion once more," he continued.

"And then Jasmine can't use her as a vessel into the world," Loki concluded as he realized his fellow gods intention. "But won't she go after somebody else?" he asked.

"Possibly, although I hope to ensure she will not have time for that if we can find her and Hera's hiding place," Janus countered.

"We are still searching for Hera, but wherever she is hiding she has gone to great lengths to hide it even from us," Loki told him with a frustrated look, which Janus was certain was shared by their fellow gods.

"She can't hide forever Loki," Janus said before he faded out to continue his own search with Loki following soon after.

+COF+

(Magic Box)

Xander was a little surprised by Cordelia's move, but managed to stop himself from pulling away. This almost made him feel like the old days when they were together.

"I don't know Cordelia, they might join Willow if they have her lust for power," Jenny said answering Cordelia's question. "We can only hope they have more sense," she added with a sigh.

"The more of them join Willow the more dangerous she becomes," Tara stated with a frown. "But if we are careful and work together we should be able to stop them," she added with confidence.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Phoebe agreed with a smile. "Teamwork can overcome even terrible odds as we've seen before," she pointed out as Piper, Leo and Savita orbed into the shop.

"We found Willow," Savita told them as they all collapsed into chairs.

"What happened?" Cordelia asked as they all turned to look at them.

"She almost killed me," Piper growled out, causing Prue to narrow her eyes as she heard this. "A few inches to the left and I wouldn't be here as I would have bled out before Leo could get to me," she explained as Phoebe, Prue and Paige moved to her side.

"It was a close thing," Leo agreed with a nod of his head. "However we forced them to retreat and we did cause her a few injuries herself," he informed them. "However I believe these boosts she has been getting from this Rack are far more dangerous than we believed," he added.

"Then we have to find a way to take out Rack," Tara concluded.

"You are right about that Tara, but how?" Xander asked leaning forward a little until Cordelia pulled him back as she was getting comfy leaning against him. "Those wards around his place are deadly," he reminded her.

"Maybe Leo should go and see if the Elders might have any ideas on this," Prue suggested with a glance at her Whitelighter.

"I can try, but how much help they might be is going to be is debatable," Leo responded.

"You can try though Leo," Paige spoke up, drawing his attention as she was still getting used to being a witch and was a long way from being anywhere in terms of real ability and power. "I mean even they can see we have to do all we can to bring Willow and her friends down, before she can cause any real destruction or deaths," she went on. "Right?" she asked.

Leo and her sisters exchanged looks between themselves not really sure how to answer her. The Elders could be stubborn and troublesome if they wanted to be. It wouldn't be the first time, and they were sure it would not be the last. Still Leo believed Paige had made a good point and orbed out, hopefully the Elders would be in a helpful mood.


End file.
